by S A Ison
There were so very few supplies. Sam was on the cot, Hunter sitting on the floor by his side. Sam had a bandage on his abdomen, the young man was nearly gray but Aiden didn’t know if it was the lighting inside the tent. Hunter looked up and smiled wanly.
“William said he thinks Sam should be fine, fortunately the spear didn’t penetrate very deeply, we’re hoping it didn’t perforate the bowel.” Hunter said, his voice choking off suddenly and he looked down to his lap.
Aiden smiled at Sam and walked in. The smell of infection lingered in the cloth walls, he knew Christian had died from gangrene and perhaps that was the odor that lingered. He’d never cared for hospitals, and cared even less when he was stuck in one, recovering after Becka’s attack.
They were woefully lacking any kind of useful medical equipment and treatment. Their lives were balanced on a knife’s edge. Anything could kill them now. He was glad that they’d all had to update their shots before traveling. At least for a time, they would all be safe from many diseases. But accidents and infections would kill them quick.
“Sam, can you give me an approximate location to Connor’s camp? We’re about to leave to go bring Diana back.” Aiden asked, trying to breathe through his mouth.
“You go up to the falls, near your old camp, then you head northwest about two miles. There is a dense growth of rhododendrons about five hundred yards from the camp. I’m really sorry I couldn’t stop them.” Sam said and began to cry; his sobs wracked his whole body and he shook with grief. Aiden laid a hand on his shoulder and squeezed hard.
“Sam, you were ambushed by cowards, you concentrate on healing and getting better, we’ll take care of this infestation.” Aiden said and patted Hunter on the back, and then he left the tent. He hoped Sam wouldn’t end up like Christian, with an infected gut wound, that was a death sentence, and it was an excruciating death. He’d heard what Diana had done for Christian, ending his life quickly so he wouldn’t have to suffer. He knew it took a certain kind of ruthless courage and kindness to perform that task.
He found Gabe and Sarah, he saw that she’d given Marla one of the plates that she had made and also a small rabbit skin. Both women were talking animatedly when he joined them.
“I got the location, Leo, Gabe, Sarah and I will head out in a few, I think Hunter should stay here, if we fail, he will be your next best chance along with Bruce, Tom and Hudson, you’ll want to keep William out of it, you’ll need to keep your medic safe. I’d like to form some kind of strategy before heading in.”
Leo nodded and they all left the group for some place quiet and everyone sat down on the ground. Aiden cleared a spot on the ground.
“Sam says that the camp is up past the falls, northwest about two miles. Our advantage is that there is a large rhododendron hedge near their camp, but far enough away, that we can wait there until dark. Once the light starts going, I’m going to get in as close as I can, you guys follow in, but go slow. They will more than likely have someone standing watch. They’re going to be expecting something.”
“Are you sure you want to go in alone? I can go with you.” Leo offered.
Aiden didn’t know about Leo’s abilities and that in and of itself could get them both killed. Aiden had killed before in hand to hand, and he knew the risks. Depending on the situation, he was going to try and kill Connor from a distance. He couldn’t make firm plans, because he’d have to stay flexible and deal with whatever came. If the others could keep most of the remaining men occupied, he could take out at least one, Connor. He’d try for the others, but they were all going to be put down. He just needed to make sure that he wasn’t hit by friendly fire.
“I’m sure, the more people moving around, the more chances of us being detected before we get close enough to help Diana.” Aiden assured Leo.
He looked at Sarah, her face calm and trusting, he smiled at her and she returned his smile, nodding. She was in and she was ready. He looked at Leo and Gabe, who was pale, but looked okay to proceed. They talked for another half hour, about contingencies and other strategies.
It would take about an hour or two to make it to the camp, the closer they got to the camp, the slower they would have to proceed. When it was nearer to dusk, they could draw in closer. Aiden would think about getting in closer if he thought it was safe to do so. Even with all the planning, things sometimes went wrong, there was just no predicting, and especially dealing with someone like Connor, who was the very definition of unpredictable.
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Diana’s head hurt badly, she felt like vomiting and a small voice whispered, concussion. She felt her body rocking which made her head feel worse and made her stomach roil. She tried to open her eyes, but they were so heavy and all she could hear was the pounding of her heart in her head and ears. She was trying to remember what happened, but her head was hurting so badly, she couldn’t think.
Once more the nausea swept through her and she finally opened her eyes, only to find Connor above her, and she was confused, she couldn’t think why he was there. His blue eyes were penetrating hers and then she realized what he was doing and she spewed vomit in his face, causing him to scream and catapulted himself off of her.
She turned over onto her side, she felt her naked hip grind into the ground and into the small stones and dirt beneath her. She continued to vomit, her head warring with her stomach. She felt like her skull was going to shatter into millions of pieces, and the darkness threatened to converge on her once more. She gritted her teeth, willing herself to stay conscious, she wasn’t up for rape and wanted to fight the bastard. Her body spasmed with the heaving until she had ropes of saliva hanging from her mouth, and snot running from her nose.
Her eyes narrowed in hate, and she could hear Connor’s screaming and cursing over the pounding in her head. She rose on shaky arms, and looked for her shorts and underwear. They were by her feet and she struggled to reach them with a shaky hand. Her mouth was pulled back in a rictus of rage and ferocity, her eyes lasering in on Joey, Luke and Matt, and she snarled, her voice low and guttural, “You fucking assholes come near me and so help me god, I will fucking rip your dicks right off your body with my bare hands and I will shove them down your fucking throats.”
She grinned savagely when she saw the fear enter their eyes. She wasn’t Carol or Vana to meekly submit, she’d take these fuckers down with her or die trying. Then her eyes found Connor, who was wiping the acidic vomit from his face. She thought of the movie Aliens and their spewing acid and laughed low, causing Connor’s head to shoot up and look at her.
“You fucking come near me again Connor, I’ll make sure I fuck you up in a bad way. You piece of dogshit.” She sneered, pulling on her panties and then her shorts. She still sat on the ground, she knew she was too unsteady to stand, and she didn’t want them to see her weakness. She could feel the noisome fluid leaking from her and knew that this wasn’t their first go around with her.
She could only pray that none of them had anything communicable. She hissed low again, looking at the men, all except Connor looked ashamed, he simply looked angry but she could also see fear in his eyes. She had a good ten pounds on him now, the weight had peeled from his body. She also had an expansive rage bubbling within her and the overwhelming urge to kill him.
He would still be stronger than her, but her rage and outrage would help. She would use her teeth and see how he liked being chewed on, low bastard. But she needed to keep him away, her head was still killing her and if he hit her in the head again, she was pretty sure it would kill her. She covertly sifted her hand around her body, slowly, making sure Connor, nor the others noticed.
She needed some kind of weapon. The knife that had been in her shorts was no longer there. Her hand came across a rock, it wasn’t huge, but it would put a hurt’in on anyone within striking distance. She looked around her, the sky was getting dark. She didn’t know how long she’d been unconscious and that worried her. She remembered then that Gabe had been bashed on the head as well and Sam
had been stabbed with a spear. She hoped both men had survived.
Because it was getting dark, she didn’t expect a rescue. She’d have to take care of herself. And if both Gabe and Sam had been killed, then she might not make it out of this place. But by Christ, she’d take them out with her. She would not go quietly into that night, she would raise some hell and cause some pain.
She thought of her girlfriend, Alison, and knew she’d never see her again. She pushed the thought away, she didn’t need to show weakness by crying. Once she got her shorts secured, she drew her legs in and watched the men around her, her body tense and ready to kill. She watched as the shadows began to lengthen in the forest and she watched as Connor added more wood to the fire. It was like he was afraid of the dark and she laughed low and he looked over at her again. He should be afraid of the dark.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Aiden and Sarah walked side by side, they spoke little, each in their own thoughts. Sarah couldn’t get her mind around all that was happening. The absolute brutality of what Connor was doing. He’d seemed so nice when she’d first met him, very charming. He’d even flirted with her as did some of the other guys. Aiden, she smiled softly had not.
When Christian had stood before them at the airport in Beijing, pulling each of their names out randomly, a small part of her hoped she’d be paired with Connor. She wasn’t disappointed when she had gotten Aiden, as by then she’d known he had experience with survival training. Now she nearly shuddered at the thought of Connor. What a wretched man.
Diana was an incredibly strong woman, they’d talked a great deal and Diana had talked about Alison. Her heart broke for Diana, because she knew that Diana would never see her again. She felt lucky in that aspect, she’d not left anyone behind except her parents. She missed them, but it had been years between visits. She hoped that they would be okay and safe in Maine, she was sure they would, since they were hardy people.
She wondered if Vana was still alive but she suspected that she wasn’t. There was no reason to take Diana and the men knew that Diana was gay, but it didn’t matter to them, they were selfish and barbaric in their treatment of the women. She’d feel a lot better and a lot safer once they were dead. She wished that Leo had agreed with Aiden the first go around, to go and kill them. But Leo’s hesitation had put Diana, Gabe and Sam in jeopardy.
She’d never say anything to him, but she was glad she and Aiden had stayed apart from their group. She trusted Aiden implicitly with her life. She could feel the heat of the day, her body heating up, as they approached the large rhododendron, their pace slowing. There was little wind and she could smell something, but could not identify it.
She could hear no sounds, only the birds in the trees, the insects buzzing. She watched as Aiden gave hand signals for them to spread out. It would be a couple hours yet until dusk. She wedged herself into the branches of a cluster of the heavily leaved plant and sat still. She watched Aiden slip away silently into the trees, his face nearly black with ash that he’d rubbed into it. Hers was covered as well, but she knew hers was streaking because she was sweating, from the heat and nerves.
She settled herself for the agonizing wait. She tried not to think about what they might be doing to Diana, nor the fact that Diana might already be dead. It was bad enough to live each day with uncertainty, but to have these people turn so vicious was doubly wretched. Her mind kept chasing itself and she tried to clear it. She didn’t need it cluttered when the time came to go in. She wanted to mentally prepare herself to kill, and kill she would, if she got the chance, she would launch her spears with as much deadly force as she could muster.
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Aiden looked at Sarah from the depth of the forest. He smiled softly, she looked ferocious and feral, her bright red hair pulled back and ash rubbed into it and onto her face and arms. Her bright green eyes were watchful. She was still and had pulled herself into the large bush and had become nearly invisible. He was so proud of her. She was smart and brave and she had really stepped up to the plate. He felt so lucky to have her and grateful that she was safe with him. He’d make sure she never had to fear anything from Connor and the others.
He slipped slowly farther into the woods, and lost sight of Sarah, he moved his way toward Connor’s camp. He moved so slow as not to disturb a leaf. He remembered back to his training and the ghillie suit, moving even slower than a sloth. Each movement slow and exaggerated, breathing slowed. His senses were acute now, listening for anything, a breath, a sigh, anything. It took him over an hour to move one hundred feet, and he kept going, and in two hours, he could detect the sound of the camp ahead. The light was fading and the forest around him began to settle. His eyes moved around, he saw nothing moving in the woods.
He scanned and then moved to the next tree or bush. Around him the forest was quieting, he could tell by the dull shadows that dusk was coming. He paused and his eyes caught movement and he froze and felt the leap of his heart. He waited, seeing nothing. He would not move again until he’d located the cause of the movement that he’d detected.
It was nearly ten minutes when he detected the movement once more, and his eyes widened in shock, it was Grayson, and the man looked even more wild than he’d seen before. He was nearly naked, and his body filthy. Yet Aiden could tell the man was eating, he still held weight on him. His black eyes bored into Aiden, and Aiden hoped that the man wouldn’t give him away.
Grayson didn’t move for a long time and the shadows deepened. Aiden blinked and Grayson had disappeared, vanishing into the depths of the forest. The hair rose on Aiden’s arm, Grayson had gone mad, he was sure. He’d become some wild thing, living in the woods alone, on the periphery of humanity.
His ears detected movement and he turned his head slowly and saw the shadowed form of Leo. Leo was moving slowly through the forest, and then he saw Gabe and then Sarah, bringing up the rear. They were slowly moving into position. He turned and began to move toward the camp, he could now see the glow of a large fire, it was roughly three hundred feet ahead. He could also smell the stench of putrefaction, it would seem that Connor had dumped the refuse of his murders in the nearby woods.
As he drew closer, the smell became more prevalent as was the low buzzing of flies. He felt the heavy body of several flies’ bump into his face, it was all he could do, not to swat at them. He knew they carried grizzly things on their many legs. He hoped to god he didn’t run into a viper while moving blindly through the woods. He hoped that Sarah was careful as well.
He waited as the others began to catch up, staying roughly thirty feet behind him. He could now see the men standing around, he couldn’t hear them, but could clearly see them in the fire. His eyes looked around the area, but he could not yet see Diana. Joey and Matt were standing together talking, their heads close. Luke was off to one side, looking at the ground, his arms crossed over his chest.
Aiden drew up behind a stand of pines, watching, he was about twenty feet away and could see them clearly now. He saw bones, human bones laying near the fire. There was something over coals, it looked like part of a leg, perhaps part of a thigh. He tried to keep his rage in check, he hoped that it wasn’t Diana, but he didn’t see her.
Once more his eyes scanned around, the fire was a good size and he couldn’t see behind it. Connor was on the other side, he was looking down, but Aiden didn’t know what he was looking at. He then let out a slow breath when Connor started speaking, and Aiden knew he was talking to someone, and he was sure it was Diana. He couldn’t see her, but he could see all the men.
Then his eyes caught movement near the edge of the trees. It was Grayson, his eyes wild and his mouth open and his teeth bared in an insane silent scream, he moved with surprising speed and silence, a long sharp stick in his hand. He came up behind Luke, who hadn’t heard his approach and Aiden watched as Grayson’s left hand came around the young man’s head and clamped down on his mouth as his right hand drove the sharp stick up into the base of Luke’s skull. Aiden watched Luke’s b
ody dance in its death throws and then sagged against Grayson.
No one had noticed, not a sound had come from Grayson nor Luke. Grayson eased Luke’s body to the ground and melted back into the trees. Aiden shook his head. He moved in closer now, there were only three men. His eyes were on Connor, he was still talking to Diana, yet he couldn’t see her, but he could clearly see that Connor was agitated. Aiden’s eyes shifted to Joey and Matt, who were still talking, no one had noticed Luke’s body laying over by the woods.
He smiled, Grayson had positioned Luke’s body to look like he was sleeping. He almost wanted to laugh. Grayson might have gone insane or he’d chosen how he wanted to live and he was righting the wrong with Carol.
He didn’t know what Grayson’s background was, if the man had had some kind of training, but he clearly knew what he was doing when he took down Luke, it was a thing of beauty and he’d executed it perfectly.
Aiden didn’t want to get too close in, he eased his spears and launcher out of their holder. He knew at this range; his movements might be caught and he’d blow their surprise attack if that happened. Sarah had made another spear quiver, she’d become better at weaving the grasses and frons into tighter fittings. He slowly placed a spear into the launcher.
He had to make sure the first spear hit home, and he’d need to be ready to launch another spear quickly. He’d leave Matt and Joey to Sarah, Gabe and Leo, he figured they’d take them out while he dealt with Connor. He pulled his arm back slowly, over his shoulder, taking careful aim.
His hand and fingers held launcher and spear firmly, he stepped out from behind the tree, ensuring he had a clear shot to Connor’s chest. He let out a long slow breath and felt his muscles bunch as he threw his arm and then body forward, launching the spear, like a tightly wound catapult.