Shadows Will Fall by Trey Garrison

set up near the outer gate for obvious reasons—to arm those going out on patrol. The garrison didn’t set up as if they expected a siege. So it’s of no use. Between us and the armory are all those undead monsters. We must fall back to the inner courtyard. There is no gate to the inner courtyard, but we can use the field cars and the crates to build a barricade. We can barricade ourselves in and radio for an airship extraction.”
    â€œThe outer gate,” Terah said. “If those things get loose, it won’t matter what we do. Nowhere will be safe. They’ll spread across the land.”
    Skorzeny nodded.
    â€œWhere is the animal handler?” he barked.
    One of the men on the line turned and raised his hand.
    â€œHow many nachtmenn and wehr-wolves do we have in the garrison?” Skorzeny asked.
    The animal handler considered. “Most are on perimeter patrol, Lieutenant. There are six nachtmenn and eight wehr-wolves in the stables,” he reported.
    â€œGet to the stables. Release the wehr-wolves and sic them on those things. Instruct the nachtmenn to close the outer gate and then to attack. Instruct them to tear the heads off those things,” Skorzeny said. He was sure he was sending them to their demise, but they had the best chance of fighting through the mass of undead and closing the gate. At the least, they would buy him time. Both nachtmenn and wehr-wolves had thick, armored hides and were incredibly fast. Perhaps they could take the things down even though they were severely outnumbered.
    The absolute silence of which the dead are capable allowed three of them, who’d broken off from the hoard, to sneak into the ranks of the living before anyone knew it. The terror everyone felt broke free. When the first soldier screamed, Skorzeny knew he had to get control or he would lose everything to chaos. The undead were in their midst, attacking with teeth and claw. Blood ran. Soldiers accidentally fired on other soldiers. It was madness.
    The first of the nachtmenn the handler released charged into the melee. It grabbed two of the things by their heads and wrenched them off. Their headless, undead bodies fell to the ground. A storm trooper who kept his head used his bayonet to stab the third under the jaw, driving the blade up into its cranium.
    The baying of the charging wehr-wolves was, for once, a welcome sound. Their long claws clattered on cobblestone as they charged across the courtyard at the undead. The nachtmenn followed, in a formation of three ranks—three in front, two in the middle, and one at the rear.
    â€œNow, everyone, fall back to the inner courtyard!” Skorzeny commanded. “Fall back! Men on the line, bounding overwatch!”
    As the civilians, prisoners, technicians, officers, and scientists ran for the inner courtyard, the storm troopers on the line held fast. Then every other trooper fell back ten yards, taking up firing position again. The remaining front rank repeated the process, falling ten yards behind the second rank and then turning to cover their mates.
    By chance, Terah and Deitel found themselves back-to-back with Skorzeny and two of the storm troopers. Skorzeny planned to be the last one into the inner courtyard. Already the technicians were at work on the barricade.
    The wehr-wolves tore into the mass of undead. But their natural means of attack—to tear into the throat—had little effect. By sheer weight of numbers, the creatures fell on the transgenic wolves. The cry of the last one sounded like the howl of a dog.
    The nachtmenn were having more luck. With their lightning speed, they maneuvered around the hoard of undead and found the control for the gate. While the other five stood shoulder-to-shoulder, the sixth pulled the lever that lowered the outer gate. The rattle and squeal of the chains and the thunder of it slamming down attracted the attention of the horde. It was too far and too dark for those in the inner