Fight (Book Three, the Hunted)

by Patti Larsen

  “So many siblings lost,” the third says.

  “It was necessary.” The female snaps at him this time, a low growl vibrating under her words. “For the continuation of our species. We could not simply kill ourselves, you fool. The doctor would have noticed. And wondered.”

  “Yes, I know,” the third says. “I understand allowing the children to kill the weakest of us, sacrificing them was the only way. And yet… when we escape, I would suggest we capture the doctor and keep her in our possession. There must be a better way to create more of us. She did it before. She can do it again, to our desires.”

  He waits, almost anxious, while the leader contemplates. The bigger hunter finally grins at him.

  “Yes,” he says. “Fitting to have her work for us. Well thought of, brother. I leave her for you to take.”

  The third bows slightly at the honor.

  The female leans toward the leader, rubs her cheek against his like a cat before sprinting off into the darkness. He doesn’t watch her go, instead turning to the third.

  “Where are the little ones?”

  The smaller hunter turns and makes an odd trilling noise, soft and subtle. At his call, a large mass of multi-sized darkness emerges from the trees, many small voices chittering in answer. The small creatures wind in around the larger. The hunter picks up one of the tiny balls of black fluff, strokes his claws over its back. It yaps at him.

  He approaches the fence and sets it down facing the outside and freedom, all teeth and beady black eyes in the moonlight. “Dig,” he whispers.

  The creature instantly obeys, its pack joining in with great gusto. The part of their brain that used to be a dog understanding what digging means. Giant mouths opens wide, devouring the dirt, tossing it aside. Bits of rock and chunks of turf fly out from the frenzy of burrowing as the pack forces its way under the fence.

  The leader ignores their efforts. He focuses instead on the black shadow easing out from behind the soldier’s tents and approaching a large metal box connected to the fence on the outside. They nod to each other, ready, waiting.

  The pit is growing, the creatures digging down below the buried cable under the fence line. The leader watches them now, an eager and hungry smile widening his mouth in a grotesque shark smile.

  The first creature to burrow to the other side emerges with a soft bark of excitement. The waiting hunter catches it and turns toward the cable connecting the generator to the fence and shows it to the creature. Eager for more, the giant mouth gapes, sharp teeth severing the line with one snap. Smoke immediately billows from the dead creature and it collapses into dust.

  The leader gestures but it’s not necessary. The hunter quickly bends and scoops as much of the powder into his hands as possible, depositing the precious remains into a small plastic bag that disappears into his tight black suit.

  More of the diggers have made it to the outside of the fence and sit quietly, waiting for instructions. The hunter bends and lifts one into his hands, tossing it casually at the chain link. It bounces off with a small yip of surprise but survives.

  The leader smiles wider. And throws back his head to howl.

  Every hunter hears him. Understands the message. And starts running for the fence.

  ***

  Chapter Seventeen

  Reid stops at the tent flap, hearing the call of the hunter, so close it should be triggering his fear response. Instead it wakes the darkness inside him, sends fire pouring through his blood, and a great joy surging in his heart. He has no idea what that call means, but he knows how it makes him feel.

  And that can’t be good for anyone except the hunters.

  Reid spins around, the soldiers so shocked by the sound themselves they don’t move. Reid meets the colonel’s eyes.

  “How do you plan to control them, exactly?” The call has faded but the heat of it lives on inside him. “All that power, all that perfection. How?”

  He sees Dr. Lund get up, frowning a little, eyes fixed on the floor near where Reid had been sitting while Brackett’s brow dips over his forehead.

  “We are in complete control,” the colonel says.

  Reid glances at the doctor again, then down at what holds her so captivated. And tenses, kicking himself for his lack of attention.

  The second pile of powder he stole is gone, inhaled and lost with the plastic container that held it. But the first, he shoved it in his pocket, used what he could and forgot about the rest.

  Reid’s right hand drifts down to his pants and feels the rip in the fabric, where the pocket seam let go. There on the ground next to his chair, leaked from that tear, is a small pile of glittering dust.

  Dr. Lund’s eyes lift, meet Reid’s. It’s the first time he’s seen her insanity so clearly, worse now because it is edged with fear. She rushes at him, grabs him by the arms, her small fingertips digging into his flesh as she stares up at him.

  The colonel reaches for her but she jerks herself out of his reach and shakes Reid. “How much have you taken?”

  Reid refuses to answer. It’s not necessary anyway from the rapidly changing look on her face. From terror to excitement to joy and back again. “It works,” she whispers. “It really works. Outside the lab. Without suppressing the immune system or transfusing the blood.” She smiles like a child, wide-eyed and innocent before her face crumples. “It works.” Tears well, spill over. Reid is about to pull away, can’t stand her hands on him when she lets him go suddenly and hugs him hard.

  “My miracle,” she whispers.

  He shoves her away just as the first patter of gunfire cuts the night.

  “What have you done?” The colonel lunges at Dr. Lund, wrenches her away from Reid and spins her around.

  She is laughing and crying all at once. “I’ve made gods,” she said. “Gods who can create more gods, who will take over the world.” She bends over in a fit of giggles.

  Brackett’s understanding dawns, horror finally registering for him while the sound of muffled shouting and more gunfire forces its way through the walls of the tent.

  “We agreed,” he whispers. “There would be no more of them. You swore they would never reproduce. I had your word.”

  The six soldiers at the flap are trembling, fists white around their rifles. They look so terrified Reid can’t hold his contempt in any longer.

  “So much for controlling them, colonel,” he says.

  Brackett looks stunned one more heartbeat before lashing out with his large fist, the blow taking Dr. Lund in the jaw. She is thrown back, into Reid’s arms, a bloom of blood flying from her mouth, lower face twisted from the shattered bone.

  And yet she continues to laugh, even after Reid lets her go to sink to the ground, hugging herself and rocking back and forth.

  The sounds of battle are louder now, screams and shouting and gunfire, punctuated by the howls of hunters. The tent flap whips back, and a young soldier rushes in, his face smeared with blood.

  “Sir!” He gasps as he stumbles forward, tripping over the doctor. “The creatures!”

  The colonel ignores the desperate solider and stares at Reid.

  “Tell me,” he says.

  Reid stays silent. Until the colonel’s handgun appears beneath Reid’s chin. The harsh muzzle digs into his skin and shoves his head back. Cold blue eyes aren’t asking anymore.

  Reid has no choice. “When they die,” he says. “The remains. If you breathe it in… it starts to change you.” He has to admit it to himself at last. “Enough of it and you become one of them.”

  Reid sees Syracuse out of the corner of his eye. Watches the man slit the side of the tent open with Reid’s knife and run away. Lets him go, knowing the fat man is the least of his worries, only by promising himself one day he will make sure Syracuse dies.

  He hears the man shout for his guards even as Brackett steps back, gun dropping to his side as the man pulls himself together.

  “God damn it.” Brackett turns to the soldiers around Reid. “Get the hell out t
here and secure a perimeter. If those things escape there’s no telling what will happen.”

  The soldiers actually hesitate, eyes enormous. Just outside car doors slam, an engine roars to life. Tires spin over gravel. Reid’s mental eye watches Syracuse get away and wonders if Lucy is with him.

  If not, she’s as good as dead. If the attacking hunters don’t kill her, Reid will.

  “Now!” Brackett’s bark makes the soldier’s jump. They are suddenly more scared of their commander than the hunters and scramble to obey him.

  Brackett looks down at Dr. Lund and pulls his sidearm. “I should have put your mad ass down a long time ago.”

  She looks up at him but her back is to Reid so he can’t see her face.

  “Try to kill me.” Her voice is slurred, forced out from her shattered jaw. “But I’ve taken the stuff myself.”

  Brackett’s Adam’s apple jumps over and over. Reid sees his finger slide over the trigger, tighten.

  Reid has no desire to watch. Unguarded, the colonel distracted by his hate, Reid spins and lunges for the tent flap, changing direction once outside just in case. He hears a single gunshot, flinches. And keeps running.

  ***

  Chapter Eighteen

  Reid runs right into chaos. Soldiers are everywhere, some screaming, others more orderly, while the coughing echo of rifle fire and gunshots fill the air. From what he can tell by sound and the low, thin cloud of smoke in the still night the battle is happening somewhere off to his left.

  Reid goes right, following three fleeing soldiers down a narrow way between two tents, slowing as he reaches the end to look out.

  The center of the compound is empty except for a large cage full of panicked kids. His kids. Reid’s heart leaps at the sight of them, clutching the bars of the enclosure, packed tight and terrified.

  He focuses, calling up his hyper senses, finding it harder this time. He needs more of the dust if he wants to have access to all of it. His fingers stray to his empty pocket, wishing he had dove for the pile of dust he left on the floor of the tent. But Reid can’t think about that now. Instead he feels around him, using his exquisite sight to scan for movement while he listens beyond the gunfire and screaming behind him. Confident they are alone, he runs to the cage, covering the ground so fast he’s almost there before the first voice says his name.

  “Reid.” It spreads like a message, until they are all whispering it, reaching for him through the steel slats. “Reid.”

  He ignores them, refusing to let them distract him until he can get them free. He eases around the side of the cage, finding the mesh doorway. It’s padlocked and chained.

  “Reid.” She’s the only one who can draw his attention and he lets her. Looks up into Leila’s clear blue eyes. She looks so much more lovely in the light of his hyper vision, clear eyes like jewels, pale skin almost glowing. Tears slide down her cheeks, liquid light, as she smiles at him. “You made it.”

  He can’t help it. He smiles back. “Long story.” The padlock isn’t heavy but it’s still beyond his ability to break. Reid spots a junk pile on the other side of the compound and runs for it. After a brief search he liberates a short length of metal pipe he hopes will fit and runs back to them.

  Reid jams the pipe into the loop of the padlock and twists against it, throwing his shoulders and back into the effort. He’s shocked when the lock pops almost immediately though the kids in the cage are so grateful when he jerks it free along with the chain, they don’t seem to notice, instead surging eagerly against the gated door, shoving it open. Reid dodges back, keeping a careful eye open as they pour out onto the thin grass, huddling close around him.

  He spots Marcus in the back and chooses to let all that has happened between them go for now. “Follow me.” Reid leads them through the clearing and toward a small concrete bunker at the edge of the compound, the farthest he can get them from the fighting but also the farthest from the exit road. Not that it matters. They have enough experience running through the woods he knows he can get them out as long as there isn’t another fence.

  The bunker is half-full of supplies, set low in the ground, so the pack has to hunker down to get inside. It’s just big enough for all of them to hide in and still be able to swing the sheet metal door shut. Reid peeks out the small glass window, wiping at the dirt that fogs it, keeping an eye out for the fighting he knows could spill out onto this area at any time.

  Something large detonates on the other side of the compound. Everyone jumps, a few kids squeal, but for the most part they stay quiet, trained to survive in their silence. The ground shakes, the shock wave rattling the metal door of their hiding place.

  Reid looks out the window again. An orange glow fades near the gate to the woods, a column of black smoke climbing away into the night.

  “Listen up,” he spins back on them. “I have a lot to tell you.”

  He pours it all out, from his discovery of the dust’s affects over time to the goals of Dr. Lund and her betrayal of the colonel. He catches Marcus staring when he talks about Brackett. “Your dad killed her,” Reid says. “At least, I think he did. I heard the gun shot.”

  Leila’s hands grip his, squeeze gently, concern in her eyes just visible from the shaft of thin light coming in the small window.

  “Are you all right?”

  He shrugs, feeling the crawl of fire still inside him. “It doesn’t matter now.”

  “Can we trust you any more?” Nishka looks horribly sad. “If that’s true, aren’t you turning into one of them?”

  They stare at him like they hoped someone would ask but didn’t want to be the one who did. Reid understands the question. It’s fair. But they don’t have time for doubt.

  “I’m fine,” he lies to them for the first time since he met them.

  “So let’s go kill one.” Milo glances around at the others. “And do what Reid did.”

  He shakes his head immediately, scowling at the boy so deeply Milo shrinks away.

  “Don’t be an idiot,” Reid says. “You want to risk it? For all I know it would only take you one dose.” No one says anything. “Besides, I’m pretty sure the hunters let us kill them.”

  “But why?” Leila’s hands slid from his.

  “I don’t know for sure,” Reid says, “but from what the colonel said, the hunters were never supposed to be able to reproduce.”

  “And this allows them to.” Kieran hunches near the back, head low to keep from hitting it on the ceiling, eyes wide but full of horrified fascination.

  “That’s nasty.” Reid is happy to see Sarah hasn’t lost her attitude.

  “So you think they figured this out on their own? By eating their own dead?” Cole shudders. “That’s sick, Reid.”

  “The dust,” he says. “She made it that way. Dr. Lund. So they could create more of themselves. For all I know she told them about it while keeping Brackett in the dark. And knowing the hunters, they would use that information to their advantage.”

  “You think they let us kill them?” Leila breathes out softly. “So they could harvest the dust.”

  “Maybe. Yes. I bet they’ve been stockpiling it for a while. And planning this escape for just as long.” He knows it’s true because it’s what he would do if he were them. His mind is changing, he’s gone too far into the dark to leave it now. But he has to get the pack to safety before he can think about that.

  “What can we do?” Reid spins on Marcus when the challenge comes, ready to tear him apart. Of all of them, Marcus has the least right to be here let alone make trouble. But the look on his face is level and steady, not an ounce of confrontation in it. “I’m serious,” Marcus says. “What can we do?”

  “Everyone stay here.” Reid glances out the window again, still blessedly empty. “I’m going to try to find us some weapons. Maybe even a truck. But be ready to run.” It’s his turn to grab Leila’s hand and hold it. “I want you and Kieran to make sure everyone gets out of here.”

  She shakes her head. “I’m
coming with you.”

  “No,” Marcus says, moving his way through the pack until he is beside Reid. “You’re going to do what Reid told you to do. I’m going with him.”

  Several voices protest, including Kieran and Milo.

  Reid shuts them down with a gesture. “No.”

  Marcus meets his eyes, doesn’t back down. There is no sullen anger there anymore, no antagonism. Just emptiness and a hint of sorrow so old Reid has an idea where it comes from.

  “You don’t trust me to have your back,” Marcus says. “I get that. But I’m coming with you anyway. If only to prove you wrong.”

  “Why should I believe you?” Reid releases Leila who tries to get between them.

  “You don’t have a good reason,” Marcus shrugs. “But that doesn’t change the fact I’m coming with you.”

  Reid holds Marcus’s gaze for another two breaths then nods. “Fine,” Reid says. “But stay the hell out of my way. And if I suspect, even for a second, that you’re going to betray me—“

  “I know,” Marcus grins at him. “You’ll kill me. Get in line.”

  Reid can’t help the snort of laughter that comes out of him. He turns from Marcus and looks at Kieran.

  “Protect them,” he says before shoving open the door and going back out into the night.

  ***

  Chapter Nineteen

  Reid spends as much time at first watching out for what Marcus will do as he does paying attention to the compound that he finally gives up on it. Not much he can do if Marcus decides to bolt or try something stupid. Reid decides then and there if Marcus gets his ass into trouble, Reid will leave him behind.

  They have reached the outer tents by now and Reid slows, reaching out with his hyper senses. Because he does, he feels the hunter’s approach before they are in range and sidesteps the inevitable attack easily.