Soldiers of Fame and Fortune Full Series Omnibus: Nobody’s Fool, Nobody Lives Forever, Nobody Drinks That Much, Nobody Remembers But Us, Ghost Walking, 12 Book series...

by Michael Todd

  “Don’t even say it.” Alvin cocked his rifle.

  He and Adisa fired a volley in the underbrush. The entire team screamed a rebel yell almost as one and focused on the first attacking animal they saw. There was no fear in any eyes, but there was also no fear in any of the beasts. That was the most dangerous part of it all. They had stumbled into virgin territory with animals that rarely saw the rage of man. All they saw was a really good meal self-delivered into the clearing of their home base.

  Adisa maintained his machine gun barrage and swayed from right to left with a grin on his face as the bullets eliminated several of the animals. Without pause, he swept the weapon downward and small, furry rodents erupted into an explosion of blood and fur. He gritted his teeth as the weapon shook his body and glanced constantly around him to ensure that nothing crept up unnoticed. At the sound of scraping claws to the left, he swung and fired at a jag crouched in the underbrush.

  Before he could turn back, though, another cat launched from the bushes to his right and knocked the gun from his hands. A vicious paw swiped out and struck him on the shoulder. He winced and cursed but realized that it had merely grazed him. With a loud curse, he grabbed the jag with a hand on each side of its head and a roar of anger ripped through his entire body. He twisted the creature right and left and yelled again as he tossed it to the ground beside him. Utterly enraged, he leapt on top of it and ignored the gashes to his body from the beast’s swinging legs. He snatched a dagger from his waist and thrust it into the creature’s throat. It twitched for a moment and warm blood pulsed from the wound.

  Adisa panted heavily, held the dagger with both hands, and yanked it out. He stood and wiped the blade on his leg before he shoved it in its sheath, then brushed at the blood across his chest. He turned angrily when a duo bear roared behind him. Alvin stood with his rifle aimed and fired shot after shot into the bear’s chest. He shifted his aim upward and pulled the trigger. The bullet slammed home into one of the heads, right between the eyes. That head wobbled and fell back while the other head screeched in anguish.

  He pulled the trigger again but this time, it clicked. “Fuck.”

  His gaze locked on his adversary, he yanked a magazine from his hip and replaced the empty one. When he raised the barrel, the monster was only inches away. It roared loudly and spit ejected from between its rows of jagged teeth.

  Alvin shook his head. “Say goodnight, motherfucker.”

  He squeezed the trigger and the slug entered the bear’s mouth and blazed a path to its brain. The creature catapulted forward and he leapt to the side as it passed him and slammed into a tree. Blood spattered all around and Alvin wiped the front of his visor with the back of his arm. He looked at Adisa, nodded, and turned to find another target. As he stepped forward, a rodent ran under his foot and tripped him. He flailed his arms in horror when a jag lurched out of the bushes as he careened toward it. His side met the creature’s sharp claw and his suit ripped a split second before the talon sliced into his flesh. He clutched the beast’s furry leg and pulled back with an agonized scream.

  With one hand pressed tightly to his side, he raised the rifle with the other and pressed the trigger over and over again. Slugs pummeled into the jag until there was barely anything left of its upper body. A hand on his shoulder startled him and he spun and almost blasted Misha. She shoved the gun aside and fixed him with a hard look. “You need to calm down. Save your ammo. We have a lot to fight here. If you use it all out of anger, you will face a hell of a lot worse. I don’t know what unleashed all levels of hell on us today, but we’ll either win or we’ll be dragged down to hell with it.”

  Alvin released his side and adjusted his grip on his gun. “It’ll never take me.”

  She chuckled but swung her head to the right at the sound of crunching leaves. A demon head sprinted headlong toward them. Its eyes glowed bright red and it snarled and spat as it ran. The creature’s legs were hinged at the knee but kicked back like something from a horror movie. Without thought, Misha shoved Alvin to the ground. She whirled away from the beast and felt the sting of its claws as it raced past her and dragged its jagged nails through her arm.

  Her lip twitched and she yanked a dagger from her belt and set off in pursuit. She thrust into a forward leap and landed hard on its back. The impact forced it to its knees to slide through the leaves and blood below. She grabbed the creature by the forehead and jammed her dagger into its throat.

  As Misha cut through it, she whispered in Russian in its ear. “I Bog skazal, chto nikogda ne budet drugogo demona na moikh chasakh ... suka.”

  With that, she thrust the dagger in a vicious motion that severed the head. From behind her, another demon head bolted from between the trees. It watched as its companion’s head fell to the ground and its body collapsed in Misha’s hands. As it approached, Aki screamed and tackled it violently. The two rolled through the dirt and blood and finally slid to stop in the center of the battle. The man leapt from the ground and straddled the beast but instantly took a claw across the chest in the process. He didn’t flinch or even blink but simply pulled in the energy from his training and his heritage.

  The creature looked at him with fear as he slowly drew one of his swords from the sheath. He held it high with two hands and stared unflinchingly at his adversary. “You have come to the wrong place for a fight. May your soul forever be stuck here in this moment and fear blaze through you as you meet your death at the tip of my sword.”

  Aki thrust downward and stabbed through the demon head’s chest and into the ground below it. He pushed hard to make sure the sword had gone all the way through. The red glow of the beast’s eyes flickered and went dull as its body slumped into death.

  Across the clearing, Trigger fired his last round into the head of one of the rodents. He dropped his guns and drew his short sword from his back. The blade glimmered in the sun that filtered through the top of the canopy. He turned to his left at a large, scaled, humpbacked creature that seemed to blow steam from its nose. It spat a jet of venom toward the man. He ducked to the right and the fluid missed him and landed to bubble and steam on the ground.

  He stared at the animal and dodged back and forth as it attempted to hit him with its venom. Soon, he noticed that the beast had a blind spot to its right. With every dodge of the deadly fluid, he slowly moved farther and farther to this weaker side. His gaze studied the beast’s body and then its legs. They were long and jointed as if it had elbows. The scales there ended in razor-sharp edges and the limb looked like a hoof sharpened to a hooked point. It stamped furiously and pawed at the ground.

  The animal reared its head back one more time and slung its venom. As Trigger moved to the right, he pushed off with his legs and launched himself at the creature. With his short sword firmly gripped in his hands, he plunged it deep into the beast’s neck. Venom leaked from the wound and sizzled downward to the ground. He grasped the handle more firmly and thrust violently until the tip of the blade burst through the other side. His foot shoved against the scaled body for leverage, he dragged the sword through its flesh and left the head dangling as the animal collapsed.

  Trigger breathed deeply and eased away from the puddle of venom. He laughed as he always did when he found the sport entertaining. Holly stood about twenty feet away and eliminated a large rodent-looking animal with six rows of teeth and sharp claws. She glanced at Trigger, who motioned to the animal’s head with a wide smile, but chuckled and shook her head.

  He put his sword up in the air. “We live for this! We die for this! We are forever!”

  The challenge had barely ended when the smile faded from his face and the sword fell from his hand. He brought his hands up and gaped at a long, sharp talon that protruded from his sternum. His disbelieving gaze slid to Holly before he dropped hard onto his knees. A demon head yanked the claw out and licked the blood from it. It grabbed Trigger by the hair and dragged him quickly into the jungle.

  Holly stepped forward with wide eyes and screamed
. “Nooo! Trigger!”

  But he was gone. Lost in the deep recesses of the jungle, destined to dissolve into the breathing of the Zoo.

  Chapter Nine

  Holly unclipped her helmet and threw it to the ground, her gaze locked in the direction in which Trigger had been hauled off. Anger bubbled deep in her stomach as she turned to face a duo bear that stared at her with its fur puffed and teeth bared. She gritted her teeth and snatched up the short sword her friend had dropped. Rage empowered her as she whirled and sliced the creature across the chest. She slashed at it again, and again, and again, lost in the anger that had erupted inside her.

  The creature lashed out and attacked with both heads down. It hit her hard and knocked her back several feet. She struggled onto her wobbly legs and marched forward as she swung her sword in bold, sweeping arcs. The beast reared back and slashed her cheek with one claw and across the shoulder with the other. She touched her cheek and withdrew her hand to see the blood on her fingertips.

  In a split second, she resumed her onslaught and wielded Trigger’s sword as violently as she could. It cut the duo bear across the arm and then the leg, but the wounds didn’t slow the beast at all. From the side, Alvin rocketed into the fight, his daggers high. The bear snorted but barely even glanced at him. He launched himself at the monster, but it threw its arm out and struck him hard in the chest. The force catapulted him back into a tree. Even from there, Holly heard his ribs crack and an agonized groan escaped his chest.

  She shook her head and raced over to extend her hand. “We’re not giving up.”

  Alvin took it and stumbled to his feet. His eyes widened at the duo bear behind her. “Look out!”

  He shoved Holly out of the way and snatched his gun off the ground. He shot three times, sending a bullet into each head and the third into the beast’s heart. It stumbled backward and shrieked as it thrashed and struggled until finally, it sagged and succumbed to the wounds. When it fell, it shook the earth and the monkeys screeched high up in the trees. The locusts still swarmed overhead but none of them had entered the fight.

  Alvin grabbed her by the shoulder. “Keep going. Trigger was meant to die in these woods. You can’t lose it and die too. This is not your end.”

  Holly looked at him as her breath dragged and tears stung at the corners of her eyes. She nodded, located her helmet a few paces away, and picked it up. With almost robotic movements, she put it back on and activated the system, fighting rodents off while she waited for it to re-boot. She had no idea what she could do to help her team, but she was determined, at that point, to survive. No way would she die in the jungle, and not under these circumstances, that was for damn sure. She would decide when it was her time.

  Across the clearing, Adisa and Misha stood side by side. It seemed that the number of animals had begun to decrease. The Russian woman looked at her companion. “If we can keep going, we might actually stand a chance.”

  He nodded but was distracted when something thrashed in the underbrush beside them. They turned slowly as a duo bear appeared almost out of nowhere. They hadn’t sensed it coming and hadn’t heard it until it was virtually on top of them. Adisa put his arm out and backed her away with him. “I say we tag-team this bitch. What do you think?”

  Misha chuckled and shifted her grip on both her daggers. “I think that’s a perfect idea. I take left, you take right?”

  Adisa slammed his hand into his fist. “And we fucking meet in the Goddamned middle.”

  They attacked as one and slashed at it with their blades. The beast retaliated and swung aggressively with its claws. Misha dodged, then bounced forward to slice her blade into its wrist. The metal wedged in and the bear screamed in a high-pitched tone. The woman smiled as she yanked it free with no remorse or sadness for the creatures. She’d done nothing to provoke them, and they had killed her leader.

  As her partner bobbed, weaved, and struck anywhere he could on the bear’s body, he took a good look at the beast. “This animal is older.”

  Misha breathed heavily and narrowly evaded a claw. “How do you know?”

  Adisa narrowed his eyes. “He is really scarred with gray in his fur and is obviously as tough as hell. He has been around for a very long time.”

  She exhaled a deep sigh and ducked to miss another swipe. “And what is that supposed to matter?”

  He put his hand out and stopped her next attack. “This bear deserves to die with honor just like Trigger. A good death.”

  Misha blinked at him as the creature roared in her ear. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”

  Instead of an answer, he stepped in front of the animal and puffed his chest out. The duo-bear snarled and did the same, the massive body bleeding and his steps noticeably weaker. Adisa held his dagger in both hands and bowed slightly. It studied him but did not charge. He raised his blade and walked very carefully toward the creature. Misha took a step back, absolutely convinced that at any moment, the damn thing would eat her teammate.

  Instead, it bowed its heads as Adisa plunged his dagger deep in its heart. A loud roar erupted before the animal fell and took one last dragged breath before dying. Misha limped forward as he withdrew the dagger. “That was the weirdest shit I’ve ever seen.”

  He sheathed his blade. “Bears are sacred creatures in all cultures. I will not disrespect that, especially not here.”

  Aki had similar views, but in his present predicament, those views seemed very remote. He stood and stared at two jags, which both snarled and moved relentlessly toward him. His nerves remained calm and he watched their muscles for any sign of which would attack first. As one’s legs trembled, he moved to the other side and then back again. They seemed a little bewildered and he used the moment to sweep both swords through the air and cut each of the jags across the head. The beasts took a few steps back as the blood ran down their long faces and onto the ground.

  He crossed his swords back and forth in front of him and fixed his gaze on the beasts as he stepped cautiously toward them. They backed away, transfixed by the blades that swept in constant circular motion. One of them roared and clawed at the swords before it jerked back to nurse a gashed paw. Aki’s body swayed from side to side and each footstep fell with light deliberation. His complete concentration was focused on his adversaries as he willed them backward and pushed his helicopter motion faster and faster until one blade could not be distinguished from the other.

  The jags paused and studied the swords. After a moment, their gazes slid to his twirling wrists. He could see the look in their eyes—they studied him, learned his moves, and formulated their own. One rumbled quietly and they shifted, one to each of his sides. Aki’s head moved back and forth in an effort to retain contact with the beasts. They lashed out at the same time and struck almost simultaneously. He grunted and stopped his sword motion to bend forward slightly. The animals retreated again when they saw the anger in his eyes.

  It was a game at that point, predator versus prey, but nothing had determined which was which. Aki took several steps back and winced at the pain in his sides. He gripped his weapons in his shaking hands and groaned loudly as he straightened. With his eyes closed for a moment, he breathed in deeply through his nose and out his mouth. When the air exited his lungs, his eyes opened and he stared at the two cats that scratched and dug at the dirt beneath their claws.

  Aki slid one foot back and used it to thrust himself into motion. He no longer felt any pain from the wounds he had sustained. The enemy hurtled into the attack as well and rocketed forward with their heads lowered. As they approached, the jags lunged and slammed their heads into his torso. His arms flew wide and his body arched as it hurtled through the open corridor in the jungle. He landed hard and the breath slammed from his lungs before he careened into a slide and finally came to rest in a pile of dirt and debris. His swords had spun free from his hand and his body lay still.

  Holly screamed in pain, anger, and sorrow as she lay on her back in the dirt. The demon head hovered over her an
d breathed heavily as its eyes beamed bright red. She felt as if the thing literally stared into her soul and tried to rip it from her body with only a look. Her teeth gritted in determination, she swung her sword back and forth and fought with every last drop of will she had left in her body. The battle cries of her teammates resounded all around her and the canopy of the trees whipped wildly as the locusts flew off, having never attacked them at all.

  Her gaze shifted briefly to the treetops, then back to her assailant. She blinked wildly as it raised its giant claws into the air but once again, something seemed to freeze the moment and demand her attention. To her left, Aki impacted hard with a pair of jags and his body flailed wildly and slammed into the dirt. His swords spiraled outward and spun hilt over blade through the soil and leaves. One of them slid past Holly’s face and stopped barely inches from her hand. She stared at it for a moment as everything seemed to move in slow motion around her. The handle of the sword glimmered brightly as if it called to her to pick it up and wield it. She stretched her fingertips, ignored the blood that ran down her arm, and pulled the sword into her grasp.

  The handle was still warm from Aki’s hands, and Trigger’s dying battle cry rang out loudly in her ears. She hoisted the sword up and narrowed her eyes at the demon head. “Go to hell where you belong.”

  She thrust upward and rammed the tip of the blade in under the demon head’s chin and up through its skull. The creature’s arms fell to its sides and it toppled backward. Holly moaned and rolled and managed to pull herself up onto her hands and look around her. She could feel the ache move through her entire body, but she couldn’t give in to it. Resolute, she pulled onto her knees and slowly forced herself onto her feet.