The cool night air rushed by Derrick as he raced alongside the shuddering metal behemoth, his legs pumping. Its scents overwhelmed him; burning coal and acrid smoke laced, almost imperceptibly amid the cacaphony, with that which he sought. Driven by a desire to match the speed of this creation of man, he threw himself forward into the task with abandon. His brothers were close. He could feel them behind him, though their closeness began to fade as he gave himself over to the thrill of the hunt.

And then he was in the air, diving for the ladder on the side of a boxcar. His claw squeeled along its rusted wall before it struck the ladder, and then it was a human hand with fingers that tightly clutched a rung. He hit the side of the car hard, the impact of his back to the rusty-blue metal leaving a dent in the inanimate and an ache in the living. Derrick managed to retain his grip on the ladder, and pulled himself up onto it.

Looking back down the line of the train as the winds buffetted his body, he could see his brothers clinging to the ladder of the next car. He grinned to himself as they slowly climbed, and then he joined their ascent, but ahead of them. He'd beaten them again. He'd shown them why they followed.

Reaching the top of his car, Derrick made his way to its hatch. He chuckled at the sight of the padlock there, as if it could stop he and his brethren from entering to claim their prize. He took hold of the lock's metal hinge, weaving his fingers around and through it, tensing in preparation to snap it in half.

A new scent played across Derrick's nose, and he froze in an instant. Its sensation reached him even over the powerful olfactory images of the chugging train and its burning fuel, of his brothers, and of the frozen carcasses awaiting him below. It was the scent of another living being, unexpected as he perched atop the speeding boxcar. It lacked the tell-tale smell of his own people, and the underlying current of wildflowers told him that it was likely a human woman.

"Open it already!" Derrick's younger brother, Kaylen, shouted over the sounds of the train and the howling wind, his unruly blong hair flapping around his face.

Snarling at his brother for a moment, Derrick strained against the heavy lock, feeling its metal press into his fingers. His arms bulged with the effort as he pulled, face reddening. He cried out with the release as he felt the lock snap in his hand, shattered metal gashing the palm of his hand before he threw the twisted shards to the ground below as it sped past.

"You two gather." He growled at his brothers, pointing at each of them in turn and then to the car below, the wound on his hand bloody but healed by the time he'd finished the gesture.

Turning away from his brothers as they opened the hatch to reveal the cargo of frozen meat below, Derrick loped on all fours toward the next car in line. The intriguing scent grew stronger as he approached, and a smile formed on his hungry lips. Time was of the essence, he knew. The others would be waiting for them to leave the train with their haul just as it began to slow on its approach to town. They needed to have the cargo ready by then.

But his brothers could handle the gathering, he told himself as he climbed down the ladder between the boxcars. The door to the next car wasn't latching properly, he saw, and it opened and then slammed closed again with each shudder of the speeding train. The swinging door seemed to fan the intoxicating scent within back out at him, and he emitted a low growl in anticipation.

Leaning over from his place on the other car, Derrick took hold of the door frame and quickly pulled himself through. He timed the move to slip through before the door slammed shut, and ducked down low to survey the room contents of the car. It was stacked with wooden crates, each stamped with letters that were unintelligible to him. Drawn forward by the scent, Derrick slithered between the stacks until the sensation became overwhelming. Peaking around a corner, he finally found its source.

She was lying there, curled on the floor between a pair of the crates, her dark hair falling around her face. She shivered as she slept, arms wrapped around her shins and drawn up into a ball, subconsciously seeking whatever warm she could find. The smell of her held him hostage now, so close, and he closed his eyes and leaned in to bask in the sensation.

Derrick was drawn out of his reverie by the squeal of the train's brakes and a lurch as it began to slow. Its horn sounded, an alert of its approach to those who lived in the town. It was also an alert to Derrick's pack, however, and he realized that he would need to move quickly.

The girl woke almost instantly as Derrick took hold of her ankle to pull her toward him. Instinctively, she kicked out at him with her other foot, the soft rubber sole of its pink canvas hightop bouncing harmlessly off his forearm. Gazing hungrily into her eyes as they snapped open wide, he drank in the terror that she showered on him as he reached forward to grab the thigh of her other leg, his jagged fingernails pressing into her flesh through the material of her leggings.

"Stop it! Get away from me!" She screamed as he yanked her to lie beneath him, denim skirt riding up to reveal more of the leggings beneath as she slid across the rough floor.

She lashed out at him as he pressed his weight down onto her, slashing at his face with her fingernails. He growled as he felt his skin open up under the attack, and saw the new reaction of terror flash across her elfin features as the gutteral sound rained down on her.

The train lurched as it slowed further, and its horn sounded again. Derrick was out of time. He needed to leave the train. The others would be waiting, and he couldn't risk another moment. But the need for this girl, for her scent, for her very being, was crippling. How could he leave her?

"I will..." He growled, his voice strained with his desire, barely able to find it with the desire that coursed through him. "... be back for you, little morsel."

Thrusting himself up against nearly overwhelming reluctance, Derrick turned and ran to the door. He burst through it and dove across to the ladder to the other car with reckless abandon. Just as he reached the top, he saw his brothers leaping from the train, heavy carcasses of beef clutched their chests as they plunged toward the ground, back-first. They landed and slid on the ground toward a waiting pickup truck. He grinned with grateful pride at the sight of a third side of beef atop the train waiting for him. His brothers knew to take care of him.

Grabbing the frozen and butchered cattle, Derrick lept from the train as his brothers had done before him. The impact of the landing jarred his frame, but kept his precious cargo safe. Rising to his feet and thrusting the meat up onto his shoulder, he spared one last look at the train before hurrying to the battered truck, the girl's scent still filling his mind.