Chris leaned over the table and whispered conspiratorially, “We have more to go on now than we had before, so cheer up.”
He was right, and I knew it, but I could feel rage and a desperate need to do something active was building inside me to an unbearable level. I needed to act, I needed to do something more than all the cerebral investigating I had been doing. I was always better in the field getting my hands “dirty” as I metaphorically dug up my leads and followed them. It was taking every mental effort I could muster not to break down and simply scream my frustration into the night sky, so I simply clenched my fingers into a fist and focused on not smashing the table in front of me to splinters.
Alpha had been sitting silently the entire time like some great white ghost, but I thought I had caught him flash me a look of shock before he looked away and hid whatever it may have been. He set his plate aside and then rose from the table, excusing himself as he went. He was about to leave the room when he looked back and quietly said, “Steven, Chris, would you follow me please?”
Chris and I looked at each other, but quickly excused ourselves before standing up from the table. In spite of the rage inside of me, I walked out of the farmhouse feeling a little bit the insensitive guest, for not offering to help clear and clean up first, but I made no atempt to deter from the direction Alpha was taking us as he exited the main house and headed for the barn.
None of us spoke as we walked and it wasn't until we were all inside the barn and Alpha had shut the large door that he decided to speak.
“Steven, what was your assessment of Dimitri's abilities?”
I shrugged, not sure where Alpha was going with this, “Hand to hand I suppose I'd have a pretty good chance against him. He's very fast, but I'm stronger; unfortunately, that means if he's armed with anything more than the skin on his knuckles, then I'm in trouble.” Alpha seemed to process that as I asked the obvious question, “Why?”
“It would seem that, unless we can get Christopher a shot with his rifle that I will need to be the one who goes after Dimitri.”
“What about William?” Chris asked.
Alpha nodded, “I had been hoping that William could hold off the bulk of Dimitri's people while I went after their leader, but I don't think we can count on William in the coming battle anymore.”
Chris and I both remained silent, slightly shocked by the revelation.
“Why the hell not?” I asked abruptly.
Alpha made a face that conveyed disappointment but understanding, “He came for the child and, now that he has been reunited with her, I don't think he wants to put her or himself at risk again.”
I couldn't help the surge of anger that bolted through me at those words, “But we were here to recover all of our people! We wouldn't balk at going after the girl if Lei had been returned to us!”
Alpha looked at me patiently, “You are not Lei's father, and Lei is not an innocent nine year old girl.”
I opened my mouth to protest, but Alpha cut me off, “Lei is an eighty-plus year old soldier, one of our people's Hunters, and with that title and responsibility comes the realization that, like any other soldier, casualties can occur.”
Chris looked at me and volunteered, “You're not suggesting that we just leave her?”
Alpha's face turned from compassionate into intense as he looked from me to Chris, “Of course not!” I thought he might actually lunge for Chris, but he quickly calmed before saying, “I simply am saying that William is likely going to focus on protecting the child as opposed to going on the offensive with us. He is the only family that girl has now and she...”
Alpha’s voice had trailed off, but despite how much I hated losing the human equivalent of a force of nature that William embodied in the coming fight, I understood his decision. I hated it, but I understood.
“So now you're wondering who can take Dimitri if you have to be the one on crowd control?”
Alpha nodded, “And there's also Alexei's relative Nicholas that we will have to worry about.”
“He seem like a contender to you?” Chris asked.
Alpha shrugged his shoulders, “The history books certainly would say as much. His reputation is that of an extremely capable and dangerous warrior.”
“So I should take him from a distance if possible?” Chris raised his hands as if holding his hunting rifle and looking down the barrel and through the sight.
Alpha nodded, “If opportunity presents itself, then that would certainly be a good choice.”
Frustration that had been simmering inside me suddenly boiled over, “You both are talking as if we've found her already! Let me remind you that although we have more to go on than we have had since we arrived in this God forsaken place, we haven't actually figured out where Lei is yet!”
Both Alpha and Chris' eyes went wide with surprise as I erupted at them, “I don't care about Dimitri, Nicholas, Siberia, Russia or even Alexei! All I care about is getting Lei back.”
I was shaking with rage and my legs suddenly felt unstable beneath me, but I kept right on shouting, “If the two of you are just going to sit around and make stupid plans, then just give me the Goddamn guns and I will go to every fucking farm and kill anyone who even looks like they might be one of Dimitri's people until I find her!”
Chris and Alpha looked at each other, and then Alpha raised his hands before taking a step in my direction, “Steve, how long has it been since you dosed?”
I heard the words, but the meaning was lost on me as my rage continued to build. I couldn't believe Alpha was trying to change the subject on me. Didn't he know we were running out of time?
“We need to get the kid to tell us from where she escaped and if that means we have to drag her out into the forest and make her retrace her steps then that is what we should be doing!”
Chris backed away from me, “Okay let's assume for an instant that William doesn't rip us apart if we were to even look at the child cross-eyed, are you actually suggesting we force a nine year old girl back into harm's way?”
“Don't be ridiculous, we can protect her, she'll be safe with us,” I insisted, “We're running out of time! We need to move!”
“And we will,” Alpha's voice came from directly behind me, “but we will do this right and we will not endanger the child.”
I spun, my hands already clenched into fists and my teeth barred in a snarl as I faced Alpha. He met my gaze with his own and I could feel the ancient confidence and power behind his cold stare. There was a time when Alpha and I had not exactly seen eye-to-eye. We have even fought in the past and, on every one of those occasions, the leader of our people had left me lying battered and broken. A part of me was screaming this fact in the back of my head, but the rage I was feeling overwhelmed the warning and pushed me forward.
I took a step toward Alpha and Alpha's face screwed up in a snarl of his own as he hollered, “No!” while pointing his index finger in my face.
I slapped the hand and finger out of my face and took another step forward as I focused on the hollow spot at Alpha's throat. From this distance if I struck first I could strike at Alpha's Adam's apple and shatter the bone and cartilage beneath. Even one as ancient as Alpha could suffocate as his pale blood was forced from the wound down into his lungs. I could do it too. I could kill him and then he wouldn't stand in the way of my finding Lei.
I felt my muscles tense as I planted my feet against the earth and readied myself for the strike when the sound of running footsteps behind me made me hesitate and back away. It was Chris, I had never even heard him leave, and now he was running back into the barn with a small duffle bag. The bag seemed familiar, but my focus returned back to Alpha and the threat he represented.
“They're all here!” Chris was calling out, his voice tinged with a slight panic “He's hasn't dosed since we arrived!”
“What?!” Alpha snarled and, in that moment of distraction, I launched myself forward with the web between my thumb and index finger of my right hand open and ai
med directly for Alpha. Everything was in slow motion as his head turned back to me and his eyes again went wide in shock. He raised his hands to block the strike but I knew he was too late and I felt a smile spread across my face. Something moved in the periphery of my vision, something small and mostly in shadow, but I could still make out what it was. A chill burst from my core that was similar to the sinking feeling one gets when going down the steep descent on a rollercoaster and I immediately let my hand fall from rigid to slack a millisecond before my strike made contact with Alpha. I still struck him hard in the throat but, with my hand loose, the impact did more damage to my hand and wrist than to Alpha. He gasped and choked a little afterward, but I think it was mostly shock and fear that I had struck him with what otherwise should have been a lethal shot. My wrist popped on impact, but I didn't notice the pain. My eyes were locked on Pha who stared at me as if I were some kind of wild animal there to rip everyone apart.
It was all I could do to stay on my feet, as I felt the weight of the stare coming from the girl. William was likely nearby but, as self-loathing threatened to overwhelm me and quickly began replacing the rage I had been feeling, I wouldn't have cared if the man squashed me where I stood. I just tried to kill Alpha, the leader of my people and the closest thing to a father I had ever had.
I sank down to my knees and put my face in my hands. I felt completely lost, confused and, for some reason, I couldn't remember where I was or what we were all doing here.
I felt a hand press into my shoulder and a calm voice whisper in my ear, “You're in the beginning stages of the heme-depletion and your Porphyria is taking control of you.” It was Chris, kneeling next to me, and holding an EpiPen at the ready, “We need to get some medicine in you and I mean now.”
I lowered my hands to look at him. His eyes were wary and I could tell he was ready to jump back and away if my reaction was anything but submissive. I only nodded and felt Chris jab the EpiPen into my leg. It made an audible pop and caused my head to swim briefly as the medicine made its way through my system and combined with the faulty red blood cells that my body had already created, which I was currently and foolishly trying to function on. My head began to clear and I suddenly realized I could take a deep breath where I had been practically hyperventilating before. The world seemed a little brighter and my anger disappeared. I was still worried about Lei, desperately worried, but I was once again in control of myself.
Slowly, ashamedly, I turned to look at Alpha. He gazed down at me between the strands of his long white hair that had flown out of place and were covering his face in the aftermath of my hitting him. His eyes were angry. Very angry, but like a petulant child who knew he had gone too far, I turned and walked over to him, awaiting his scorn.
I kept my eyes on my shoes as I stood in front of him, “Alpha, I...”
“Look at me,” the anger in his voice stopped me cold, and it took an effort of will to break my gaze from the ground and raise my head up to meet his countenance. The second my eyes met his Alpha brought his arm up and slapped me hard on one side of my face. The blow staggered me and I had to take a step to regain my balance, but as soon as I had, I stepped back into place in front of Alpha with my head once again lowered.
“I said look at me!” Alpha's voice was even more angered than previously. My cheek was hot and the whole side of my head throbbing in rhythm with my accelerated heartbeat, but I raised my head again and faced Alpha.
“What were you thinking?!” Alpha practically screamed at me, “how could you be so reckless and irresponsible as to neglect your own dosing at a time like this?!”
“I was...” And Alpha cut off my words with another vicious slap to the side of my face. I didn't stagger, but the world did spin a bit at the force of the impact.
“SHUT UP!” Alpha bellowed and I complied as he continued, “You are the closest thing to family I have,” and the words struck home harder than either of the blows he had given me as I felt my knees start to weaken, “but so is Lei, and God help me, but if we lose her as a result of your stupidity...”
The anger in Alpha's voice faded and was replaced by emotion I had never heard from him before. He opened his mouth to speak, but no words came. I frowned as a second attempt failed and he instead reached out with both arms and pulled me in close, hugging me fiercely, “Don't you ever put me in a position where I have to put you down, boy.”
Initially I had thought he was going to hit me again, but when I registered what he was saying I lifted my arms and returned the embrace. Alpha had lived a long time, nearly six hundred years at this point, and he had lost scores of loved ones in that time. Losing people due to natural causes was bad enough, but when my kind lose ourselves to the condition we suffer, then it is the responsibility of the rest of us to put those people down like the mad dogs they have become. It is a horrible task when the person in question is just an acquaintance. When it is a loved one, it's more than devastating.
“I'm sorry, Alpha.” I whispered, “I thought I could go longer between doses.”
When Alpha spoke again his voice was hushed. He sounded confused and maybe frightened, “Why would you take such a risk?”
I sighed, “Because Dimitri has Lei and the Russian's don't believe in our modern methods. They still survive on raw blood like we used to. You know the effect that can have on us, especially on Lei. She's going to need the extra serum when we get her back.”
Alpha let go of me and peered into my face. I could tell he could read the same fear on my face that he had just felt toward me. We were going to get Lei back, but what state would she be in when we did? Are we going to move heaven and earth, declare war on the Russian collective and risk our lives only to find she was neglected beyond the point of no return? Will she be so far into the madness of Porphyria that we… I would have to put her down as I had so many others?
I wouldn’t survive that, and Alpha knew it, so he just sighed and nodded at me before asking, “All right. You know that we need you at your best if we are going to do this, right?”
I nodded, still ashamed.
“Okay then,” Alpha continued, “how are you now?”
I shrugged, “In control, I guess.”
Alpha scrutinized me, “Thinking clearly again? No more reckless impulses?”
Pha had come out of the shadows and stepped up to my side. She tugged at the hem of my jeans and I looked down in to her sweet face.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
In severely broken English she said, “Lei save me. She get me out.” Tears welled in her eyes and for the second time I felt my legs start to give, partially at the thought that I had been willing to put this child in harm's way to get what I wanted, but also at the immense concern she felt toward the woman I love.
“You go kill bad guys and get bring her home?” Pha asked.
I don't know if it was her limited English that made her words so striking, it was disconcerting to hear such a small girl talk about killing so nonchalantly. I looked up to see Chris holding his sniper rifle and Alpha with his hands resting on the hilts of those unusual gothic-looking fighting knives of his, and I couldn't help but smile.
“Yes honey,” I said as I nodded at my family, “that is exactly what we are going to do.”
Chapter 34
“We have a hit!” Chris shouted from the main house as I collected the few things I was going to need for the coming trek through the forest.
I called back, “What?”
“The warehouse!” Chris answered, “the place they are keeping Lei, we have it on satellite!”
I dropped everything, running at full speed and into the main house, barely taking the time to make sure the door was open before bursting in.
When I reached the room where Chris had set up his computer Pha was sitting on a small chair and pointing at a place on the screen. Alpha and William were looking over her shoulder at the image on the screen and Chris was dancing around the room, still celebrating.
I had to squ
eeze in just to see past the wall that was made up of Alpha and William standing side-by-side, and was crest-fallen when I saw the spot the girl was pointing at. It was an earlier daylight video of just another farm in the countryside. Sure there was a warehouse and a long, straight dirt road that might possibly be used as a runway, but there were no planes, no cargo vans, no containers of air tanks nor any signs of life.
I turned away from the screen, “How can you tell this is the right place?”
Chris was still dancing around the room, as he said simply, “Pha says so.”
I frowned, dubious of the word of a nine–year-old girl, who likely escaped from the wherever she had been held at night while pursued by monsters. I looked back at the screen, “And how does she know this is the right place?”
“Because of all the things considered, geographically, it makes the most sense, given where she was found.”
I shook my head. I wanted to jump for joy, shout a battle cry, bolt out of the house and go running for the car, but I couldn't help being doubtful.
“I don't know Chris. A girl could get pretty turned around in the forest, even more so at night.”
“See?” Pha called out, continuing to point at the screen. I turned and once again took in the image of the aerial view that the satellite was providing.
“Yes honey, I see it.” I said, turning back to Chris, “What I don't see is any evidence that Lei is there, or any of Dimitri's people either, for that matter.”
“No,” Pha called out again, “See?”
Alpha looked up and stepped away so that I could get a better view. Once I moved in closer I saw that Pha's finger wasn't just pointing at the computer screen, but at a small dot that looked to be about fifty feet in front and to one side of the warehouse. I squinted my eyes, trying to determine what the spot might be. It had wheels, so the thought that it might be an old cart, or one of those really small cars that look more like toys than actual automobiles. What good one of those golf-cart type things would be doing out in farm country was beyond me. Whatever it had been, now it was clearly ruined. I could see pieces of metal shredded off of both of its the sides as it sat lopsided on the ground, making me think it was just some kind of wreck that had been abandoned.
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