by Patti Larsen
“Maybe less. But we won’t know until something happens.”
“Any ideas on our next strategy?” Reid wishes he had known Marcus’s dad was career military when they first met. Maybe they could have been fighting back a long time ago.
Three days, Reid reminds himself, not so long. But for them, out there and trying to stay alive, three days has been a lifetime.
“What about the fence?” Marcus scans the other side of the path while Reid covers his own. “Maybe we could trick them into frying themselves.”
“Maybe.” Reid fingers the knife in his pocket and considers telling Marcus about the powder. He knows it made him stronger. He briefly worries the others may find out by accident, that a stray inhale could change everything. But he doesn’t really believe it. The doses he’s been exposed to have been huge, from the hunter Leila killed falling right on him to the fist full of dust he breathed into himself on purpose. He can feel the potential in his limbs, the power waiting to be used. Reid is certain he could outrun all of them, even Ashley, who fiercely insisted on being the bait runner because of her track and field champion status.
And yet the private, secretive part of Reid doesn’t want to share this wonderful realization. Wants to be unique and special and keep it all for himself. That need is at war with the feeling he is somehow cheating, or putting the others in danger by not telling them what he suspects or even arming them with the same strength he has. It would put them on more level footing with the hunters, make this whole fighting back issue easier. But Reid doesn’t say anything, letting the struggle sink deep inside him and war it out while Marcus interrupts his thoughts.
“If we could find out where their base is, we could burn the bastards out like they did to us.” Reid glances at Marcus, suddenly worried about him again. His face is a tight mask of rage. Reid wonders if Marcus is punishing himself for the deaths of the four kids, killed and eaten when the hunters set fire to the gas station where he created a base. Reid forces himself to remember those kids and the horrific, almost demonic sight of the black shadowy creatures taking turns devouring them, all against a flaming backdrop.
It doesn’t matter anymore. Those kids are gone but the rest of them are counting on this plan to save them. Reid refuses to let them down. Still, it would be nice to figure out a way to take the hunters out more than one at a time.
When Reid runs into the clearing where the rest of his pack wait, Leila is still standing where he left her. He jogs into the small space and comes to a halt in front of her. Her face is pinched tight, whole body tense as she silently examines him with her eyes. She flickers her gaze over the others then back to Reid. Only then does she relax a little.
He can’t help the smile on his face. “One down,” he says, “who knows how many to go.”
He can tell she doesn’t want to smile back, but her lips betray her, light returning to her eyes. Meanwhile, the rest of the pack has a quiet celebration around them, kids jumping up and down, hugging each other, slapping backs and punching shoulders.
Reid lets it go on for a moment before turning from Leila. He spots Ashley with her back to a tree, knees pulled up, eyes closed, head bobbing as if to some private music station, right foot tapping along. She opens her eyes as if sensing he’s watching. He points at her and she instantly leaps up to join him.
“Next?” She grins at Leila, whole body jittery. “Let’s hit it.”
Alex and one of the other kids liberate the pointed sticks from Milo and Cole and run forward. Reid has to struggle for a name for the new boy and finally lets it go. Maybe after this is all over he’ll learn their names. Retain them, even. But not now.
Marcus hesitates but volunteers again.
Again Leila gives Reid her disappointed face. She grabs his arm and pulls him aside. “You can’t just keep leaving me here with them.” He can see the struggle in her, the tears forcing their way to the surface, flooding her eyes. “I need to be out there. With you.” She flushes bright, shaking her head. “That’s not what I meant. Helping you. Killing hunters. I have experience.”
Reid nods. “I know,” he says, very softly, for her ears only. “You’re one of the bravest people I know, Leila. That’s why I’m leaving you here.”
She just stares at him.
“Think about it,” he says. “I don’t leave just anyone to look out for the others, do I? Leila, I need you to protect them. Because you’re strong and smart and have the courage to act when you need to.”
She is crying for real now, fat tears trickling as she ignores them, eyes intent on his.
“I need to know they are safe,” Reid says, “and as long as you’re with them, I don’t worry.”
“I worry,” she whispers but finally wipes at her cheeks, a small smile returning. “All right. Fine. But you promise I get to run soon?”
“I promise.” Reid lets her go, misses the warmth of her skin under his hand. “Thank you for taking care of them. You’ll move to the next spot?”
“As soon as you leave,” she says.
“I’ll see you there.” He turns to go and this time she stops him.
“I’ll be watching for you.” She releases her hold on his t-shirt sleeve.
“I know,” he says. He sees Marcus and the others watching and raises his voice. “Be careful when you move. We’ll keep this up as long as we can but be prepared. For now, Ashley will keep running until she’s tired.” One look at the impatient track star tells Reid that will take a while. “Then it’s your turn, Leila. I suggest you get some rest.”
He hates leaving her again but has no choice, despite knowing it’s the right thing. This time he forces himself to not look back, knowing that doing so will only make going harder. Leila’s fear isn’t empty. Each trip increases the likelihood he won’t come back.
But they don’t have a choice, any of them. The hunters haven’t left them an option besides giving in and letting them kill them all. And that’s no kind of decision to make.
Reid jogs into the front, hearing the soft sound of Leila getting the kids moving, and leads his own pack of hunters into the forest.
***
Chapter Three
Reid should be exhausted but he finds it hard to rest. Twice more they have lured hunters into a trap and twice more they have succeeded. Every time he returns to the pack to make sure they are all right and report progress. The kids are growing more and more optimistic, and while Reid is glad to offer them some hope, he knows they won’t be able to keep this up much longer.
The worst of it is, despite his need to protect her and evade Leila’s demands to help, it’s getting harder to say no to her. When he returns after the third kill, as smooth as the first two, he finally gives her the nod.
Ashley looks like she is about to argue but Reid cuts her off. “You’ve done a great job, but I want you to get some rest. Leila, you’re up.”
She shouldn’t be smiling at him like that. Not when it’s likely she won’t be coming back. But she is and he answers her eagerness with a grin of his own.
“I need a break.” Marcus collapses with a bottle of water and an energy bar. “Half hour, tops.” Reid looks up at the sky, trying not to let the position of the sun bother him. It’s getting late in the day. They might get in one more ambush before they have to hide again. But Reid can’t do it without Marcus. They are the only two of any size in the group and Reid doesn’t want the smaller kids going into a fight without the psychological support of Marcus behind them. Not that it means much, really. The hunters could care less. Still, if it makes the kids braver when they are standing up to face one of the enemy, he’ll wait a half hour.
And yet, he wants that ambush. More than anything. And while he knows he should be nervous this is working so well, he shoves that aside in favor of the satisfaction of knowing because of him and his friends, three hunters aren’t around to kill kids anymore.
So, he waits, listening as Milo and Cole argue over who is going with Reid this time while the rest o
f the kids huddle together for comfort. Not all of them are as eager to take up arms but he’s okay with that. Reid only wants fighters with him when he faces the hunters. When this ruse finally runs its course and they are forced to try something else, the rest of the kids will have a chance to strike back whether they like it or not.
He’s still at a loss for a large-scale victory. Picking the hunters off one by one feels good but he knows a big success will do more for the pack’s courage as well as perhaps making the hunters more cautious. Reid figures if he can prove to the creatures the kids are just as deadly as they are in their own way, the endless hunting might back off. Maybe even long enough for Reid to get back to searching for a gate in the fence.
He’s grown to hate the fifteen-foot-high stretch of chain link that keeps the kids in this deadly circus. Pulsing with enough power to kill them, it hums its deadly life into the ground, a thin but impassable barrier keeping them from escaping back to the real world.
Reid is also pretty sure the fence has a second purpose. To keep the hunters in. He has no doubt they are man-made, as much as the rest of this constructed mini-world they're all trapped in. Some kind of created crossbreeds, spliced DNA and magic beans for all he knows or cares. That’s not what he finds interesting. It’s the question behind the fence. It may mean whoever made them is as afraid of the hunters as the kids are.
He has no way of knowing for sure, at least, not yet. But Reid is determined to find out. Just as soon as he kills enough hunters to make it possible to think about something else.
The half hour break goes by quickly, the sun falling further from the sky. Cole nods to Reid, the lowering light flashing from the cracked crystal of the boy’s watch. Reid grins at him. Guess he and Milo worked it out. They are both coming with him. Reid is immediately in action, pulling Milo up, then Leila while Marcus groans his way to his feet.
Reid turns to Alex. “We’ll be leaving as soon as we get back. Make sure everyone is ready.”
Alex salutes like a little soldier. Marcus snarls something under his breath but Reid ignores it, ruffling Alex’s blonde hair. “See you in a bit.”
He heads for the trees and the kill ahead. Reid is barely in the undergrowth when his mind switches back into battle mode. Leila jogs beside him, keeping pace. “Remember,” he says, feeling the first real fear he has since he inhaled the dust of the dead hunter, “you’re going to be alone out there. You have to pay attention.”
“I know what to do.” Her voice is soft, breathing easy. “I can run faster than you think.”
Reid has no doubt there are things about her he doesn’t know, including how fast she is. He’s never been in a position to see her run. She’s been so protective of the other kids, making sure no one gets left behind. For all he knows, she was a track star too in her other life. Her real life. He can’t bring himself to consider what they are living right now is real.
The part of him allowing such thoughts is looking forward to seeing Leila prove herself while his fear surges higher, knowing when she does it will be because a hunter is coming to kill her.
Reid continues to war with his need to keep her safe and the knowledge she won’t let him talk her out of it. He is so wrapped up in his growing concern he almost fails to notice someone is chasing them. Reid instantly veers into the woods and waits, his friends right beside him. He thinks he is ready for anything. Still, he is shocked when he sees Alex round the quick bend and pant his way toward them.
Reid ducks out of cover, eyes scanning the path behind the boy. Alex pulls to a halt, hands on knees, concerned but not terrified.
Not being chased, in other words. Reid’s not sure why that worries him.
The others emerge, gather around. Alex pants a few breaths, eyes huge, anxiety obvious, as he struggles to speak around his lack of wind.
“Just breathe.” Reid reaches for the boy, looks him in the eye. “Alex, breathe.”
Alex nods, gulps. Blurts out, “Ashley.”
Leila bends closer. “What about her?”
Alex drags in another struggling breath. “She’s gone.”
Reid’s heart flips over. “Did anyone see her?”
Alex shakes his head. “No. I only noticed because I wanted her to help me with one of the kids. He’s pretty scared. I figured maybe she could calm him down, like Leila does.”
“And?” Marcus cuts in.
“And,” Alex says, “she was gone. I looked for her, sent a couple of kids into the woods a ways, but there’s no sign of her.”
“Damn it.” Reid straightens and lets Alex go.
“Sorry,” the boy whispers.
“Not your fault, kiddo.” Reid turns to his hunters. Cole and Milo both look worried, their sticks bobbing toward the dirt. “We have to go back.”
“Why?” Marcus looks down the path, a horribly eager expression on his face. “She probably went looking for privacy. You know. Bathroom break.”
Alex is shaking his head. “I thought of that. Waited as long as I could before I came after you. She’s gone, Reid.”
“Let’s go.” Reid starts back toward camp, a sick feeling in his stomach. Where would the girl have gone? If she came after Reid and the others, Alex would have run into her along the way. He knew their route and so did she. So, where? And why?
Someone grabs his arm, turns him around. Marcus is scowling. “I’m going to keep going.”
“Not alone you’re not.” Reid pulls his arm free.
“We’ll go with him.” Cole and Milo are right there, courage shining in their faces, one deepest black the other pale but brothers in arms no less.
“Me too.” Leila joins the boys. “You go with Alex and find Ashley. We’ll get the job done.”
Reid wishes it were that easy. “I know you could,” he says. “That’s not why we have to go back.”
“I’m not going back.” Marcus backs up a step, madness brimming in his eyes. “I’m going to kill a hunter.”
“Listen to me, you idiot.” Reid lunges forward, grabs Marcus, shakes him. “Until we know where Ashley is, we can’t risk it.”
“I don’t understand.” Leila exchanges a look with both Milo and Cole before returning her gaze to Reid.
“If they have her,” Reid says, “if they took her, what do you think that means for the others?”
Leila’s face crumples in understanding. “You think the camp is at risk.” Her panic makes her tremble. “We have to go!”
“I don’t know it for sure.” Reid keeps his own voice level despite the worry that rises with hers. “But we have to find out first.”
Even Marcus caves at that. Reid leads the way, setting a heavy pace, trying to keep his footfalls soft while his heart pounds over everything. Either the girl did wander off, in which case he’ll happily kick her ass, or they are in very serious trouble.
It’s not like Reid hasn’t been expecting the hunters to fight back, but he expected a direct attack at him or the others in their hunting party. He never considered they might be watching the rest of the kids. And that makes the sick feeling in his stomach worse. In doing what he has to do to save them, he may have killed them all.
Reid runs on, wishing he was faster, lengthening his stride as best he can in the undergrowth, leaving the others behind. Not that it matters. He doesn’t make it a minute running when he hears something jerking him to a halt.
Someone nearby is crying.
Damn, the timing is terrible. A lost kid, maybe a newbie, or on their own and terrified. He needs to go back to the pack, to make sure they are safe, but he can’t stand to leave anyone behind.
“We have to check.” Leila has just reached his side and keeps moving. Reid goes after her, the others close behind.
As the crying continues and gets louder, the ball of anxiety continues to grow in Reid’s gut. The voice behind the tears sounds familiar. His anger mixes with fear as he connects the weeping to the tall girl with the long auburn hair just as he rounds a thick tree and sees her in the dis
tance.
Ashley lies on the trail, legs stretched out behind her, dragging herself along with her hands. Her sobs are so loud Reid is sure the hunters will come to investigate. As the thought crosses his mind he reaches out and grabs Leila to keep her from going any further. The rest of the group stops to watch.
“We have to help her!” Leila pulls against Reid. “Something’s wrong.”
“I know,” he whispers to her. “Leila, think. Stop and think. What does this feel like?”
Tears well in her eyes, her lower lip trembling. “A trap.”
They all turn in silence and watch Ashley pull herself another arm length before collapsing full out on the ground, fists beating the dirt as she continues to sob so hard her whole body shakes.
There is something odd about her legs, the angles all wrong. A small patch of red pools next to her knee and Reid knows the truth. She is bait. Both legs snapped into compound fractures. Unable to run any longer, left behind for them to find and try to rescue.
The hunters are here and know what Reid has been up to.
“She’s suffering.” Leila’s face is slick with silent tears. “We have to help her.”
“We can’t.” Marcus’s voice is flat and dead. “We have to get out of here.”
“Reid?” Milo’s chocolate eyes reflect back the boy’s need. “Are we going to just leave her?”
Reid knows the right answer. Yes. They have to, especially if they want to survive. If they want the pack to survive. Reid’s fear for them is stronger than ever. If Ashley was taken from the vicinity of the hiding kids, that means the hunters know where they are and can pick them off at their leisure. They have to go now. They have to.
And yet, before his eyes float the faces of all the kids he’s lost to this disgusting game. The two boys he never knew but whose deaths he was witness to. Mustache and Scar, the human poachers who tried to help him and their ill-fated helicopter pilot, brought down by a missile to keep the kids from escaping. Carly and Trey, neither of whom he had a chance to care enough about though their deaths still cut him deeply. Little Eric with his broken arm, face blank in the cold water where he drowned. Megan, so tiny and frail, who finally had the courage to take his hand and speak up before the hunters laid her out on the street, making her their meal in the light of an obscene bonfire.