She nodded. “Makes sense. We don’t want the Defenders thinking we don’t trust them.”
His daughter peered at him. “You know. I really appreciate the way you include me in your thought process.”
He grinned. “How else are you going to learn to be my successor? I’m not getting any younger.” He knew in his heart, she’d be Ukkiville’s greatest leader someday.
Mercy plopped next to him. “Good morning.”
Thoruk smiled. “Hi, Sis. How is Drew’s knee doing? Has he thought of wearing something other than those pointy cowboy boots?”
“He’ll survive, and he’s never giving up his boots.” She feigned a scowl. “How’d you find out?”
“Not much gets past me.” He chuckled.
Suddenly, Mercy stood and held her nose. “Eeewie, it reeks in here!”
Marching across the living room, she mumbled. “It’s also too dark.”
She brushed the drab, blue drapes aside and raised the window. “That’s better! This place was starting to stink like Woody’s sheep pasture.”
Thoruk laughed. “Just when I was starting to get used to it.”
He glanced at the corner of the makeshift lab. “You guys ready yet?”
His son and Queasy sat near the video station. Teli pressed a button on a monitor, and the nearby Halo Globe glistened brighter. “Another sec, and we’ll be set to go.”
Within moments, familiar voices and rustling broke through the speakers as the Texans’ faces appeared on a large screen. Thoruk smiled. “Good morning. We’ve got a few more people at our end today.”
Admiral Sultenfuss’ deep voice filled the room. “Great. I see y’all got a good group there. How ya doing, Mercy?”
“Fine. It’s been awhile.”
“Sure has. I’ve missed your pretty smile.”
Mercy’s face flushed as she beamed. “Cut it out. We’ve got some serious stuff to discuss this morning.”
Salty grinned. “Yeah, I suspect you do, but first…,” he looked at Speedy who sat next to him, “…I’d like to make a quick announcement. The colonel here has taken on broader responsibilities. He’s the Commander of the Defender’s drone fleet in the Northern Region.”
The slender man beamed. “I was lucky to have an insider pulling for me. When the admiral inherited The Judge’s fleet of drones after his death, I got plenty of practice with the best fighting hardware in the world!”
Mercy sighed. “I sure miss The Judge.”
Salty grinned. “Me too. He was the greatest pilot and teacher ever, and, boy, could he tell jokes, but he wouldn’t want us sulking over his death.”
Following everybody’s congratulations, the admiral’s face turned solemn as he looked at his Texas contingent. “With that bit of good news out of the way, we’d like to apologize for that last chat with Queasy and Teli. It was awkward, to say the least. We should have been more informative about the creature that slaughtered the cattle.”
Not a muscle twitched while Tiger and Ambush remained silent. Unwilling to unveil his relief that they admitted concealing something, Thoruk stiffened in his chair. “What do you mean?”
The admiral replied. “Well, that strange creature sounds like others we’ve heard of in recent years. We’ll get deeper into that, but before we do, have you learned anything new about the one that killed the cattle? Have you found any more?”
Queasy spoke up. “No, to both questions. We’ve shared everything we already know. Thoruk and Storm have led teams in search of it, but all they’ve found so far are a couple of regular muclones. We’re pretty sure they’re the Skalags’ doings. The first was a muclone similar to what Caru found over a decade ago, except the porpoise was mixed with a shark instead of a sturgeon. The second was a mutation of a very large cheetah and a humongous horned beetle. Weird as usual for muclones but nothing nearly as horrific as the predator that slaughtered Bartuk’s cows. Storm’s team is searching for it as we speak.”
The Northern Edge of Porcupine Forest
Hoot rode atop Red with her brother to her backside as she and her father’s team resumed the hunt for the beast from her nightmares. She briefly closed her eyes.
Her disturbing dreams had taken a more ominous turn. The monster no longer stalked her alone. Many more had joined the six-legged demon in the latest chase.
When she awoke that morning, her heart pounded so hard she was certain the pack of them were lurking in her bedroom to snuff out her existence. Shoulda told Pa, but what would he think? Am I going crazy?
Skeeter tapped her shoulder. “Does your ankle still hurt?”
Trying to compose herself, she forced a smile. “Just a little, but I’m no sissy!”
“Never thought you wer….”
“Hoot!” Her father’s voice startled her. “Make sure you guys hang back some. I don’t want a repeat of yesterday. Understood?”
“Yes, Sir.”
Rolling her eyes, she huffed. Why must Pa say the same thing a gazillion times?
She had already spent 15 minutes convincing him that they’d be okay riding Red! Pa must have the thickest skull in the territory.
Hoot softly tugged the reins, and her stallion slowed his pace. What was I thinking when I was rudely interrupted? Oh yeah, my dreams. Unsure what the latest nightmares meant, the last thing she wanted to do was to scare Baby Brother.
She patted Skeeter’s hands that were locked around her waist. “You okay back there?”
“Yeah, fine, but we’re moving slower than a snail.”
She laughed. “You and your cravings for speed. Don’t you ever just want to slow down and rest once in a while?”
“Me? Never!”
“Well, take a deep breath. Can’t go too fast. We’ve got to find that thing.”
Sighing, she smirked. “That sucker doesn’t have a chance with all we have hunting it this time.”
Skeeter’s arms tightened around her waist. “That’s for sure, especially with the bears and Jaws with us. My dog’s as tenacious as anything alive!”
Hoot craned her neck and looked at the mutt. “Can’t argue that one.”
She couldn’t help but giggle at the sight of such a strange combination of breeds. Traits from Ghost with the tall frame and shaggy, white fur of a Great Pyrenees abounded, but the stout, muscular Rottweiler body and black patch around one of Jaw’s eyes gave it the oddest appearance of any canine in their neck of the woods. He’d beat out Frankenstein in an uglies contest.
She nudged her steed’s sides with her heels, and the stallion trotted faster.
High above, her eagle circled the skies. Hoot shook her head. “Can’t believe I let Teli put that cam on Slasher. He should be spotting that monster pretty soon. I can feel it!”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CRINKTs
Back at Queasy’s Cabin
Thoruk looked at the video screen while tapping the table with his finger as he grew impatient. “Now, tell us about those other creatures you’ve heard about.”
Salty’s face hardened. “Hold it just a bit. Are y’all in touch with Storm’s team?”
Teli blurted. “Yes, Sir. I’ve got an open channel with Hound Dog.”
“Then advise them to be careful. From what we just learned, that beast they’re hunting could be more dangerous than imagined. Go ahead and warn them while I give you the details.”
As the young man informed the scout team, Admiral Sultenfuss continued. “Last time we talked, we didn’t really want to hide anything, we just didn’t want to frighten Ukkiville with unconfirmed conjectures. We’ve always suspected the Skalags have been trading their knowledge of DNA reconstruction and cloning with our most dangerous enemies, the CRINKTs.”
Thoruk cocked his head. “Whoa! What are Kinkets?”
Speedy’s voice raced across the waves as usual. “Not Kinkets, they’re CRINKTs. That’s C-R-I-N-K-T. It’s our catchy acronym for our enemies of the Old World. You know China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, and the Terrorist groups who st
arted the World Annihilation Period. We fear this group has advanced the knowledge of DNA reconstruction and cloning they’ve gathered from the Skalags to greater heights!”
Queasy’s eyes grew to the size of walnuts. “You’ve got to be kidding. Why would the Skalags have given away their secrets?”
“They’ve been trading with Old China for decades. In return for giving them their muclone methods, China provides Zo with a myriad of plant, animal, and insect DNA strands, food, and other supplies they desperately need. No doubt, the CRINKTs are now concocting more ferocious creatures than the Skalags have ever developed.”
Mercy shook her head. “That’s horrible! How do you guys know all of this?”
“We’ve been secretly monitoring the CRINKTs activities in the Old United States. We’ve noticed strange creatures showing up along the East Coast. One of the reports last week stated that a large colony of such beasts all but wiped out the Florids in the Southeast Territory. Witnesses reported gruesome details of extreme mutilation with missing organs ripped from the bodies of animals and humans. Also, each victim had a large puncture at the base of the neck, and the corpse had been depleted of spinal fluid. We’ve yet to figure out why.”
Queasy added. “Just like that monster did to Bartuk’s cows! Have you been able to track them?”
“They have a distinct heat signature — much different than any other animal. Here’s an example.” The screen switched to a graphic of green, yellow, and red blobs within the outline of a creature. “Do you notice anything?”
Teli scratched his head, then pointed. “Yeah! There’s a couple of distinct red areas, denoting two centers of heat. One is located in the front and another toward the rear!”
Salty’s voice boomed. “That’s right. It appears these things have duplicate circulatory systems. This could explain why their temperatures run so hot and it’s so difficult to kill them. Another thing, they use clicking and high-pitched chirping sounds for some type of communication. One of our scientists described a recent audio as sounding like crazed crickets or an infestation of cicadas but much more irritating.”
Thoruk shifted his eyes. Blazes, if Hoot had been attacked by one of those things, she’d probably be dead.
Growing more concerned with each new detail, Thoruk shook his head. “We haven’t heard of anything like that. Do you have any pictures? What does this thing look like?”
Deeper in Porcupine Forest
Hoot squeezed her brother’s hands. “How you doin’ back there?”
“Okay. You think we’ll find that thing?”
“I sure hope so. I’m tired of those nightmares.”
“Me too. I feel sick when you have bad dreams. Ma and Pa feel the same.”
“I know. That’s why we’ve got to kill this thing.” There was little she could do about it, but Hoot hated that those near her became ill when her stress levels rose too high. It’s not fair to them.
After her father had relayed Salty’s warning about the dangerous the beast, Hoot kept her stallion tucked close to Terminator with the pets nearby. Her eyes darted, scrutinizing every shadow and flicker of movement.
Despite the cooler air, she grew warmer as she concentrated on the hunt. It’s got to be out here somewhe….
Hound Dog’s voice split the waves. “Hoot, you see that?”
The smell of ash invaded her nostrils as he continued. “There’s a smoldering campsite ahead. Look over there at 2 o’clock. Is that blood?”
Storm thundered. “Slow down a bit. Hoot, you guys stay tight.” Terminator rolled to a crawl.
Craning her neck, Hoot peeked from behind the armored vehicle. “Brutish, you’re right. Blood everywhere! There’s a bunch of crows picking at a body near that big oak.”
One of the ravens plucked an eyeball from its socket. Skeeter tucked his head behind Hoot. “Eeew. Brutish.”
Hound Dog yelled. “Hoot be careful! See the shaved scalp and shadow markings on the forehead? It’s a Skalag!”
After Jaws and the bears chased the winged scavengers, they returned and sniffed the corpse.
Storm hollered. “Don’t get any closer. I’ll take a loo….” Slasher screeched in the distance.
Queasy’s Place
Salty continued with the details of his feedback. “Oddly enough, nobody has been able to capture one of these creatures yet. They’re extremely fast, and anytime somebody gets close, they seem to vanish. Most people see strange things when in shock. All we’ve observed from captured videos so far are indistinguishable bluish-white blurs. It would be bad enough if these things were contained in one area, but yesterday, we received a report that they’re appearing in large colonies across the Northeast Territory of the Yorkers. This whole thing is getting out of hand! We’re mobilizing battalions to help.”
After the admiral paused a second, his tone turned sullen. “Beware, the danger’s getting closer to y’all, especially in the mountains near the Skal….”
Teli’s voice startled Salty. “Slasher’s found it! I’ve got the monster on the drone’s cam!”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Six-Legged Horror
Porcupine Forest
Hoot looked to the sky and hollered. “Take us to it, Slasher!”
Before she could nudge Red with her heels, her brother leapt from the steed’s back and raced at blazing speed in the direction of the eagle’s cries. The bears and Jaws trailed in his wake.
“Skeeter! Stop! It’s too dangerous!”
“Don’t worry, Sis. I won’t let it get awa….”
As his voice faded, a burning pain stabbed her gut. “No! Don’t get too close.”
She dug her knees into Red’s ribs. “Yah!” The stallion bolted forward.
Skeeter’s helmet flew off his head and rolled down a slope as her steed continued his charge. Watching her brother disappear in the distance, Hoot clung to the horse’s mane. No way for her pleas to reach her brother’s ears, now.
What on Earth is that boy thinking? She gasped for air and ducked as low-lying branches nicked her cheek.
Storm’s voice pierced her ears. “Hoot! Get back here!”
“I can’t! Skeeter jumped from the horse and took off after the monster! Gotta get him!”
Her pa screamed louder. “What? How on Earth?”
More concerned about her brother’s life, Hoot ignored her pa’s yells and whipped the reins.
“Faster, Red!” Her stallion’s hooves thundered beneath her as she pressed forward in her saddle.
Storm’s voice shot through her headgear. “Hound Dog, catch up with them!”
The roar of Terminator’s engines reverberated as Teli’s voice cracked the air. “The drone’s got a good view of the monster. Wait a sec! There’s another one. They’re running side-by-side!”
Salty yelled. “Hurry! Snap some PICs and fire!”
“I’ll try, but they ran behind some trees! I can’t get a good shot. Skeeter’s catching up with them.”
Storm hollered. “Just kill those things before he gets there!”
“I’m trying! Got to maneuver around that cluster of trees!”
A searing pain knifed Hoot’s chest as Red jumped over a huge log and into a clearing. Terrified, she watched her brother close the gap on the beasts.
What’s he trying to do? He knows what it did to those cows. Fear engulfed her soul like nothing she’d felt since her older brother died before her eyes.
A bright green beam streamed from the hovercraft striking one of the beasts. It rolled under a clump of brush.
Within seconds, a bluish-white flash lit the sky. Queasy yelled. “What was that?”
Teli replied. “Don’t know. Wasn’t the drone.”
Continuing his chase, Skeeter stumbled. The remaining monster stopped and turned.
It stared at her brother with its purple eyes telescoping in and out. Chili and Ice’s growls filled the air. One of the creature’s eyes independently moved to track the pets for a moment before settling on Hoot.
Her heart lurched. “Skeeter, run!”
The monster charged, but her brother whirled and fled as the creature neared. Like the day the dire wolf raced toward her kitten, Hoot struggled for air as she watched in horror.
No way she’d let something kill a loved one again. She drew a deep breath.
While squeezing Red’s flanks between her thighs, Hoot grabbed her bow and snatched three reapers from the quill. She turned the bow sideways and nocked the shafts against the string.
Drawing the bowstring until it touched her cheek, she held her breath, steadied her aim, and let the arrows fly. With the creature closing on her brother, the reapers sailed through the air. Hoot’s heart pounded as she watched.
Two struck the beast while the other skimmed across the soil behind it. The monster squealed and rolled but regained its balance. It veered into a dense thicket — out of sight.
Hoot screamed at her brother. “Get back here! You could have been killed!”
Her gaze rose to the clouds. Lord, thank you for saving Baby Brother.
Like wolves stalking prey, the bears and Jaws sniffed the ground in search of the creatures.
When Skeeter arrived, Hoot extended her arm. “Come on. What were you thinking? Pa’s mad as ever!”
Her brother gripped her wrist with his soiled hand. Blood trickled down his pinkie.
She bent over and looked closer. “You hurt?”
“Naw, just scraped myself when I fe….”
Storm’s voice blasted her headset. “Skeeter, are you okay? What on Earth were you thinking?”
Hoot remained silent. Crap sandwich. Why did I ever convince him to let Skeeter ride with me? Anything she said now would be like poking a stick in a yellow jacket’s nest.
Tugging on her hand, Skeeter swung his leg and hopped back on the horse. “Sorry, Sis. I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”
The New World: Crimson Winter Page 6