Cassie had a brief glimpse of the darkness moving. A large shape detached itself from the trees and launched itself through the air.
“Look out!” she cried.
The mutant tackled Griggs.
Spill and Leo were on them in a flash. They didn’t shoot for fear of killing Griggs. They instead attacked with knives, going for the monster’s head.
And then another shadow detached itself from the darkness. It came straight for Cassie and Jennifer.
Cassie reacted. She opened fire, depressing the trigger of her machine gun with her right forefinger. She did her best to aim for the head, though it was hard to tell in the dark. Jennifer joined her, the two of them peppering the air with bullets.
The mutant tripped and went down, skidding through the pine needles. Cassie and Jennifer kept shooting. Cassie registered a mashed-up head as the thing came to a stop in front of them.
“Move!” Leo hissed. He and Bruce supported Griggs. The soldier was bleeding from a huge gash in the side of his face. Cassie realized with a jolt of fear that he’d been bitten in the neck. The second mutant was dead, stabbed in the face.
There was noise all around them, voices and growls. The Soviets were closing in on them. So were the mutants. It was like being in the center of a hurricane. They had to get to that store and hide.
Jennifer grabbed her hand and yanked. She raced through the trees, pulling Cassie along beside her. The guys followed with Griggs.
Gun shots rang out. A dark building loomed up in front of them.
“There!” Jennifer practically threw Cassie to the ground.
Cassie registered short wooden piers that supported a raised, wraparound porch. She dove through the small opening and got a face full of cobwebs. She pushed through them, crawling as fast as she could. She heard movement behind her as the others followed.
Seconds later, she found herself beneath a wooden building, huddling in the dark with her companions. She crawled over to Leo and put one arm on his waist. The bandage bulged beneath her fingers. She wasn’t sure if the damp was from river water, or his blood.
Leo drew her close and pressed his forehead against hers. Cassie squeezed her eyes shut, listening to the sounds outside.
The Russians were out there. Their boots crunched on the dry sticks and pine needles. They spoke in mocking tones, catcalling to them again.
They were going to find them. It was only a matter of time.
And then what? Two of their strongest fighters were wounded. They were all cowering in the dirt like animals.
She couldn’t believe it, but she was actually praying for the mutants to come. They were the only things that might help them get out of this alive.
But that was a very, very big maybe.
Chapter 36
Tell Me Something
LEO WASN’T AN IDIOT. He knew things were bad. Really, really bad.
They were trapped underneath the general store of the Bohemian Grove, surrounded by Soviets. The could only pray the mutants found the Russians before the Russians found them.
His shirt was soaked with blood and water. His side hurt like a motherfucker.
He had been an idiot to think they could pull this off. He’d put everyone in danger. If they survived the next fifteen minutes, it would be a miracle.
He smoothed Cassie’s hair away from her face. Her eyes were full of fear. Leo understood exactly how she felt. He’d never been so scared in his entire life.
The Russians were getting closer. Their catcalls were like barbs in the night air. They would be here soon. When that happened, they’d have to pray they didn’t look under the general store. If they did, their only choice would be to try and shoot their way out. Leo did not like those odds.
But the Russians weren’t here yet. Neither were the mutants. Leo still had a little time with Cassie, even if it was just a minute or two.
“Tell me something you’ve never told anyone.” His voice was barely audible, filing only the small space between their lips.
“Now?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
He decided to be honest with her. “We could both be dead in the next few minutes. If we’re going to die, I want to be able to say I knew you in a way no one else knows you.”
She shivered in his arms. He wasn’t sure if it was from cold or fear.
“Junior year,” she whispered after a long pause. “I decided to wear a dress to a chess tournament. When I used the bathroom, I got the hem of the dress stuck in my underwear, but I didn’t know it. Everyone in the tournament room saw my pink heart underwear.”
He pulled her tight against him and allowed himself to picture the moment. The story would have made him laugh if the situation weren’t so dire, but it did ease the suffocating tension in his chest.
He would never get tired of the way she felt in his arms. If they survived this kamikaze mission, he was going to fall in love with Cassie Miola. He knew it as surely as he knew his shoe size.
“Your turn.” Cassie rested a hand on his neck, fingers smoothing softly against his skin. “Tell me something you’ve never told anyone, Jock Face.”
He smiled at the use of her old nickname for him. “I made varsity my sophomore year. The guys invited me to a post-game party in an orchard. Jim Craig tried to show me how to spit fireballs with vodka. I burned the inside of my mouth so badly I got blisters. I sucked on ice cubes for the next two weeks.”
The story brought the smallest smile to Cassie’s lips. That was the most he could hope for. He caressed her cheek with the back of his hand and kissed her forehead. They held each other in silence, waiting.
Footsteps sounded outside, followed by low voices. The Russians were here.
Leo gave Cassie one last squeeze before rolling onto his stomach. He grabbed his machine gun. Cassie did the same. Leo peered through the dark, surveying the rest of their companions. Bruce, Spill, and Griggs were on their stomachs, gripping their guns in preparation. Jennifer looked fierce as always, weapon ready.
Leo held up a closed fist, a silent signal to wait. He didn’t want to risk tipping their hand if there was even a chance the Russians would miss them. Everyone nodded in acknowledgement.
Someone banged on the outside of the store. Beside him, Cassie jumped. He put a hand on her shoulder to steady her.
Glass shattered overhead. Boots rang on the wooden floorboards as soldiers rushed into the general store.
Spill rolled onto his back, pointing his gun upward. He cast Leo a questioning look. Leo shook his head. They needed to hold their position for as long as possible. There was still a chance the Soviets would overlook their hiding place.
The Soviets ransacked the general store, knocking things over and moving furniture in their search for Leo and his friends. There were others outside searching the woods. They were everywhere.
What were so many soldiers doing out here in the Bohemian Grove? It was practically in the middle of nowhere. How did this place play into their strategy?
Someone kicked the foundation on the east side of the general store. Leo and the others shifted, aiming their guns east.
Someone kicked again and shouted. Footsteps rushed in their direction.
Leo swallowed. This was it. They were going to be discovered.
Maybe there was a chance he could save Jennifer and Cassie. He, Bruce, Spill and Griggs could engage the Soviets and give them a chance to slip away.
He tapped the girls, gesturing to the south side of the building where they had slipped in. Jennifer gave him a fierce frown and shook her head. Leo felt frustration tighten in his chest. Why could she never accept his help? Was it so bad he wanted her and Cassie to live?
He turned an imploring gaze to Cassie. If she slipped out, maybe Jennifer would go with her. Maybe she could make her sister see sense. They didn’t all have to die tonight. Maybe—
Shouts went up from the south side of the general store.
So much for Cassie and Jennifer making a
quick getaway. Their only way out was now blocked.
Leo resolved to take out as many of the communist bastards as he could. If he was going to die, he would make sure some of those assholes went down with him. He—
A bloodcurdling scream ripped through the air, followed by a howl. More howls went up all around them.
Mutants. Holy shit. And there were a lot of them. This could be the break they’d been hoping for.
The Soviets started to scream. Guns went off.
Leo stopped breathing as the mutants descended on the general store. He heard them attacking the Soviets from all sides. It sounded like the packs from both sides of the river had converged.
How many were out there? A dozen? More?
The Soviets had blindly drawn the monsters here with all their noise. In their cocky confidence in their own vaccine, they’d unwittingly sentenced themselves to a grisly death.
A body was thrown up against the side of the store. The soldier’s cry was cut off by a dull crack. Leo guessed his head had just been cracked open by a mutant.
The attack raged on all sides of them. Leo and his team were in the middle of the maelstrom. It sounded like World War III out there. They had to use the chaos to their advantage. With any luck, they could slip away without being caught in the crossfire.
That was a big if.
Still, it was their best chance.
He army-crawled toward the center of their hiding place. The others joined him, gathering in a tight circle with their heads nearly touching.
“We have to try and sneak away in the confusion,” he said. “We need to get back to the river. It’s the fastest way away from here and I don’t think the mutants like water. Jennifer, do you know the way?”
She nodded. “I can lead us.”
“Good. We stay together and run like hell.” He shifted his gaze to Griggs. He could barely see the other man. “How are you holding up?”
Griggs didn’t answer right away. Everyone knew what it meant to get bitten by a nezhit, but this was the first person they knew who’d been bitten by a mutant.
“I could cause a distraction for all of you,” Griggs said. “Help you escape.”
Everyone held their breath at this suggestion. Griggs could turn into a nezhit. He could also turn into a mutant. Or he could just die. There was no way to know.
“Only if necessary,” Leo said. “There’s still a lot of miles between here and Luma. We need you as long as you can hang on.”
Griggs nodded with grim determination.
“Everyone ready?” Leo waited until he had their nods. “Okay. Let’s go.”
Chapter 37
Flight
PART OF CASSIE WAS numb with cold. This was a result of her sodden clothes and the cool night air. The rest of her was hot with fear. Her heart beat with a spike of adrenaline as she crawled out from under the general store and paused with the others beneath the porch. Her head pounded.
She was pretty sure she wasn’t cut out to be a guerrilla soldier. Still, she was going to give it her best. She sure as hell didn’t want to die. Next time though, she’d let Leo sideline her. Chess players were much better suited to benchwarming than guerrilla fighting.
They were at the back of the store, on the side closest to the trees. Cassie tried to assess the scene, but visibility was limited due to their position. It was also incredibly dark.
“On three,” Leo said. He gave her hand a squeeze. “One. Two. Three!”
They bolted out like rabbits. Once free of the porch, Cassie scrambled to her feet and ran. The soaking backpack bounced on her back.
Off to one side, she spotted a mutant with two dead Soviets. The monster held one of the bodies in his lap, dipping his fingers into the skull cavity and lapping up brain matter.
The sight made Cassie gag. She turned her attention to Jennifer. Her sister had pulled ahead of their small group, leading the way through the Bohemian Grove.
The gunfire seemed to be concentrated on the north side of the general store. The screaming was awful.
A Soviet had dropped a lantern on the road that snaked through the Grove. The light stabbed through the trees and ferns, providing a single snapshot of the melee. Russians and mutants were everywhere.
She saw a Soviet in a stand-off with a mutant. The terrified man fired shot after shot as the mutant charged him like a bull. The bullets didn’t slow him. The mutant knocked him to the ground, swinging a large rock in his fist. There was a dull thud as he cracked open the skull.
She kept running. Jennifer kept them in the forest, away from the road that led through the Grove. This meant their progress was slowed by undergrowth and fallen trees, but it was better than being out in the open. Cassie alternated between looking around the forest like a frightened deer and watching the ground beneath her feet.
She was looking off to her left when Spill tripped in front of her. Cassie’s foot caught on his ankle. She went down on top of him.
Leo was there in an instant, grabbing her by the arm. Cassie pushed off the ground. Her hand hit something round and hairy.
A distant part of her mind knew exactly what she had touched. That same part of her brain screamed for her not to look.
But the reactionary part of her mind took over. Her eyes flicked down, looking for the source of the strange thing beneath her fingers.
It was a body. A dead girl.
And she wasn’t the only one. There was a pile of dead girls, nearly a dozen. They were naked, their bodies covered with bruises and blood. Cassie might not know much about sex beyond what she had learned in school, but she knew what the smeared blood on their thighs meant.
These girls had been raped and executed, each of them shot in the head after they’d been used. The girls ranged in age between high school and college, just like her and Jennifer.
Cassie bit back a scream. She had wondered what the Soviets were doing in this place. Now she had her answer. Her chest heaved as she struggled to breathe.
Leo murmured urgently in her ear. “We can’t help them. We have to keep moving.”
Cassie swallowed and kept running. She glanced back once at the pile of bodies, letting the image sear itself into her brain.
She’d seen a lot of terrible things in the last few days. For some reason, this atrocity hit her the hardest. Maybe it was the fact that the girls reminded her of herself and Jennifer. Maybe it was the fact that the Soviets had used them and tossed them away like garbage.
Cassie felt something inside her heart shift and harden. Ever since Leo had rescued her and taken her to the Sniper headquarters, she’d wanted to help, to contribute to the war effort.
But this was the first time Cassie had ever wanted to kill. She wanted to find the men responsible and kill them with her bare hands. She hardly recognized the rage burning inside her. It was like looking at a stranger. Maybe she was cut out to be a guerilla.
She reminded herself the mutants had the Russians well in hand. She would get her chance to kill Soviets in Luma.
By the time they reached the river, the sky had lightened to a dark gray. Cassie’s breath frosted the air. The screams and gunfire from within the Bohemian Grove had dwindled.
She got her first good look at Griggs. He looked awful. His skin was clammy and pale. The bite mark on his neck was puckered and black around the edges. Already, the signs of infection were present. Black veins snaked away from the bite mark, creeping up and down his neck.
Griggs noticed everyone staring at him. “I’m still here,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m not that easy to kill.” Without another word, he waded into the river.
Cassie dreaded the cold touch of the water and wished they had their kayaks. She’d never been a great swimmer.
Suck it up, she told herself. What was a little cold water compared to what those girls had gone through back in the Bohemian Grove?
She waded in with the others, inhaling sharply at the cold. Gritting her teeth, she went to the darkest part of the w
ater, where it was deepest. She submerged herself and gave herself up to the current, dog-paddling to keep her head above water.
They left the Bohemian Grove behind, riding the river southwest.
They soon hit a stretch of river that was too shallow to swim. Cassie dragged her water-logged body out of the water, shivering from the cold. What she wouldn’t give for a fire to dry off and warm her skin. She was determined to keep going no matter what. Her feet sloshed through the ankle-deep water.
“How are you doing?” Leo asked beside her.
The sky had lightened even more, giving Cassie enough light to see him clearly for the first time in hours. One look at him sent a jolt of fear through her. If possible, he looked even worse than Griggs. His eyes were pinched with pain and fatigue. There was a droop to his shoulders she’d never seen before. His skin was pale.
“Leo—”
“I’m okay, Cas.” He looked down at his side. His hand was pressed against the bandage she’d placed over his wound. “I just need to be stitched up. The cut won’t stop bleeding.”
The breath left her lungs. Leo was not okay.
Yet what could they do here in the middle of the Russian River?
“We need to find shelter,” Cassie said. “You definitely need stitches.” She didn’t even want to think about the types of bacteria and other river scum that might have gotten into his wound.
“Soon,” he agreed. “When we leave the water. I want more distance between us and the Bohemian Grove.” He took in her shivering form. “We all need someplace to dry off and rest. We can’t pull off an attack on Luma in this state.”
The river once again deepened. They re-entered the water and resumed swimming. If they survived this mission, Cassie wasn’t sure she’d ever want to swim again.
“How much farther do you think we need to go?” she asked no one in particular.
“I think we’re just past Duncans Mills,” Jennifer replied. “I saw the back of a building that looked like Farmshed Bakery.” She glanced at Cassie when she said this.
Zommunist Invasion | Book 2 | Snipers Page 20