I awoke to the sound of my digital home assistant's jarring alert at 3 AM.
EEE-OOO-EEE-OOO "Hunter alert for your area. Please log in to your NGM for details" EEE-OOO-EEE-OOO
"Alarm off."
I throw the blankets off, and wincing as a add another tear to my already mended sheets. But I put that aside for later, I have to get my armor on, check my weapons, and look up the location for the National Guard Marque alert. One of the only good things the government has put through the last few months was the localized Marque "Guards and Hunters" branch of the National Guard, and I don't want to fuck it up and become the next scapegoat.
The Marque members all revived, or had already received some basic military/survival/hunter training. But anyone who displayed "super-normal" abilities or regular old talent, and proved suited for combat through an entry test, then get free training and funds for basic equipment. We report to the nearest National Guard base, or Police station, but only ranked members of the National Guard could actually give us orders. Yeah, USA was that desperate to get boots on the ground, that they were willing to basically issue homeland "letters of marque." But after random monster attacks started showing up more and more frequently, there was a need for private contractors like me to be spread out in every town.
I put on my loose fitting underclothes, only fussing with my tail for a moment, and enter the main room of my home (repurposed as an armory and office). I put my phone on my desk, still flashing the alert, and take my modern knife-proof black armor from it's shelf. After I have put it on, and strapped the steel plates over my chest, shoulders, and knees, I now finally check my phone for the location and threat estimate.
"Ah, shit..."
A residential community, one of those gated communities I've never lived in. Those folks like their privacy, and they're quick to complain. But more importantly, if the monsters were smart and quiet they could have eaten up to a dozen people already by the time I get there. And I'm probably going to be blamed for that. I scroll down to the threat section... goblins. So, yes, smart and quiet as far as mobs go. I just hope there are some gun owners, or newblood wealthy people there, the kind that made quick money with newfound magic abilities. That way, they could at least hold back some mobs before hunters like me get there.
"OK, goblins... goblins..."
I rush to unlock my gun locker, and grab my two Hi-Point C9's, checking them and strapping them to my thighs, and clip the 4 extra magazines to back of my belt. Cheap little shits, but they're surprisingly reliable, and they're all someone needs to handle goblins. Then I grab the sword belt with my gladius on it, and turn to the door. I sit on my "shoe bench" and wrap my feet with the leather, nylon, and tire rubber "shoes" I made for myself.
I wish I could just wear normal boots, but my feet aren't shaped for it anymore, and custom fitted boots would cost more than I'm willing to pay. My feet are not quite "digitigrade" like a real wolf-cat or whatever the fuck I am, but I stand on the balls of my feet most of the time, and my "claws" make even the shoes I can fit in uncomfortable. Besides, I actually have great traction now that I have run through like five iterations of these foot-wraps.
Then I take the time to put on the most expensive piece of armor I own: my helmet.
I had to go in person 2oo miles away for measurements, and paid about $2k for it. But head injuries are no joke, and anyone who goes into battle without one is just stupid. It is made of matte gray and green steel, like my other armor; split vertically, so there is the face half, and the back half. It is lined with Kevlar and linen padding, and buckles down under where my ears would be if I were still human. See the reason I had to get this done custom is my ears... I have goddamn cat-ears. Well, kind of. They are not quite coming from the top of my head, and are shaped somewhere between elf and wolf. Just imagine those blue people from "Totally not just Pocahontas in space 2009", had a kid with a werewolf, and you're not far off.
Thank fuck my fur is like a gray wolf and not purple... The point is, I needed a solution to my helmet problems, and it took a lot of time to get something that protected my head and ears without deafening me. At least they didn't charge me for the prototype that didn't work, damn decent of that modern blacksmith Frank. Just had to promise to buy from him more, and refer customers to him. There are a lot of downsides to being so visibly changed like I am, but when I am fully kitted out I look badass. Like if a Templar knight turned into a werewolf, rode a chopper, and hunted dragons... with guns.
Shit, I hope there are no dragons.
I rush out, and lock the door behind me. My bargain-armored Jeep SUV is only a few steps away. I tug on the metal grates I asked my dad to weld onto my windows as I jog around to the drivers side door. I hop in, and drop my gladius belt in the passenger seat. My Mossberg Defender shotgun loaded with slugs is mounted to the ceiling as always, but I check it anyway. I snagged my rear view mirror with my sword belt, so I adjust it. I look into my own yellow eyes for a moment, and reflect on how I changed half a year ago.
Near the end of my work shift at a slowly failing tool factory, me and a few other people collapsed. Most people changed a little that day, but some more than others. I was wracked with the most painful full-body cramps, like I went a year without any potassium intake and it was all catching up to me in that moment. I could barely even breathe, and just rocked and shook on the floor. Ever seen one of those werewolf movies? Where they painfully transform over like 30 seconds? Try 30 hours of that. Even with magic a (mostly) human body can only change so fast. I was in the hospital restrained to a bed in the hallway alongside dozens of other transfromees. All the hospitals and all other kinds of emergency responders were busy that whole week, just dealing with people who suddenly spat fire, saw into the 5th dimension, or like me, grew claws while writhing in pain.
Now, after months of what would be over-eating to anyone else, I stood more than foot taller, and about a hundred pounds of muscle heavier, putting me at seven feet tall and near 300 pounds. Thankfully my friends are all mostly nerds, so after some time adjusting we started making thunder-cats jokes, and "aww, does someone need a belly wub?". It's not that they aren't taking what's happend seriously, or that they aren't just as afraid of what's happening as everyone else, but after playing fantasy tabletop games for so long with those fellow weirdos, I think we were more ready to adjust... thematically at least. My family has also been mostly cool about it, and supportive, besides my aunt and her branch at least (fucking hypocrites).
The thunder-cats jokes were pretty spot-on too, as I'm not full werewolf... or werecat. Still no idea what I am exactly, since I look "wolfy" but with a 'mane' and partially-retractable claws. Any hair I had became more like fur. Thicker in some places, like the tops of my forearms, my elbows, calves, and chest... and my mane that goes around the back of my neck, and down my spine a ways, which I have mixed feelings about. But I actually still had some normal fur-free skin, like the undersides of my forearms, and around my eyes, cheekbones and forehead. And I don't have much of a 'muzzle'. My jaw is slightly elongated, to fit my new teeth (fucking nightmare that was), but the shape of my face and skull is only slightly inhuman. Besides my feet, someone a year ago could look at me and would only think "wow, that movie makeup is amazing!" instead of "oh hell, that's definitely not human", something I'm thankful for. I'm also thankful for my tapetum lucidum! I have night vision like dogs and cats, which makes my eyes glow gold in the dark. It has come in very handy since the month after "The Awakening" "Ragnarock" "The Change" or ... "The Tibulation". Gods, I don't want to think about that last one right now.
Fuck! What's with me today? I don't have time for this! I have gobs to kill, and 1%'ers to calm.
