Ella touched my hand. Looking sad, she said, “Thanks for asking. It was really sweet.” She gave my fingers a little squeeze then went into the classroom.
I couldn’t decide if that was good or bad. Was she letting me down easy? Or was she sorry she couldn’t go out with me? With five minutes left to clear my head before class started, I headed toward my locker without watching where I was going. Lost, I bumped someone with my shoulder. I stopped to apologize, only to find out that I’d run into Carter. He didn’t have the chance to wipe the arrogant smirk off his face before I caught it.
My fists curled on their own. The sting of getting turned down by Ella and knowing Carter saw it happen snapped something in my middle. A red curtain drifted across my vision.
I locked eyes with him. “What? You got something to say?”
Carter’s jaw twitched. Probably deciding whether to fight or back down. “Tough luck with Ella.”
It wasn’t hard to miss the sarcasm in his tone and I took step toward him. “Say that again. I dare you.”
It’d feel good to take some of my frustration out on this assclown. Dangerously close to forgetting every promise I’d made to Mike, I shifted my stance—bending my knees a little and turning my body away from him, so I was less of a target.
“It’d be nice to use you for a punching bag,” I said. “C’mon, give me a reason.”
Carter clamped his mouth shut and set off in the opposite direction. I started after him, but big hands grabbed my shoulders, holding me in place.
“No, Matt,” Will said. “You’d hurt him. Let it go.” His voice was low and calm, but full of iron, too.
I stopped struggling, but Will held onto my shoulders until Carter turned the corner at the end of the hall, then marched me to my locker. “What was that all about? You know we can’t afford to get in trouble.”
My blood pressure shot up again. He had no right to tell me what to do. “Piss off.”
Will’s face went completely blank. Even if I kept pushing, I knew he wouldn’t engage. He folded his arms across his chest and asked, “What happened?”
When I told him about Ella, Will’s kicked the locker next to mine. “I’m sorry, man. That was my fault for setting you up.”
And I was being a total jerk. No matter how short my fuse had become recently, I shouldn’t take it out on my best friend. I got my books and took a long, slow breath. “You just gave me a nudge. I needed one. Don’t worry about it.”
“I’m gonna worry about it, but that’s my problem,” Will said. “Just take it easy, okay? Carter’s a turd—we both know that—but, bad day or not, neither of us can afford to get suspended. There’s too much at stake.”
With a quick nod, Will strolled off for class. After one last deep breath, I did too.
History was pretty awkward. Based on her flushed cheeks and shaking fingers, I figured Ella had heard all about my run-in with Carter. Neither of us spoke as I settled into my desk next to her and both of us paid strict attention to Mr. Anderson throughout class. I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye a couple of times; she looked kind of miserable. I vowed never to put her on the spot like that again. If I was meant to get another chance with her, it’d have to happen on its own.
When the bell rang, I gathered up my books, then fled the room as fast as I could. I couldn’t stand to see Ella upset. I wanted to leave school, Carter, and my screwed up love-life behind and start over. Will was right. The knife counted on me. So did Colonel Black and the rest of the team. I had to keep it together.
As of now, I would.
* * *
I trudged home from the bus stop because both Brent and Mamie had stuff to do after school and couldn’t drive me. We’d gotten more snow during the day and the sidewalks weren’t clear. Slush slopped over my already-too-small new sneakers and into my socks. Seemed about right.
After I struggled to our driveway, I checked the mail. No card from Dad. That was to be expected after he ignored Mamie’s birthday, but it still hurt. If that butthole had any idea what I was up to these days, if he knew I was already more of a man than he was, he’d see that I wasn’t worthless, a mistake.
I drifted on those bitter, ugly thoughts all evening, even while my family sang “Happy Birthday” over my candlelit cake. Mom had moved her laptop onto the foot of the kitchen table, so Mike could sing along with them via streaming video. That didn’t cheer me up, either.
“Blow out your candles, dude,” Will said. He had one of those stupid, paper-cone party hats on his head and his grin was too wide. I could tell he was trying to make amends for the Ella disaster, refusing to believe I’d already let him off the hook.
Not sure how to tell anyone just how bad, how anxious, how confused I felt, I forced a smile and blew out all fifteen candles in one gust. Mom bustled off to cut the cake, and Brent’s hands disappeared under the table. He had his cell phone hidden in his lap; his newest girlfriend required a lot of attention. Then Mike’s connection got lost, so Will went to the laptop to see if he could fix it. I slumped in my chair, grateful that most of the attention was diverted.
Mamie stared at me, a concerned frown on her face. She had radar for bad moods; either that or she knew me too dang well. After glancing about, she scooted her chair closer to mine. Her voice low, she asked, “Matt, what’s wrong?”
“Girl trouble.” Maybe those two words would spare me a longer explanation. It worked before.
“It’ll get better, it always does.” She paused, pulling at the fringe on our tablecloth. “He missed mine, too.”
When she looked up, her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “You have so much to do, so much responsibility. The things you’ve seen…I worry about you all the time. Just remember, even if Dad forgets, we still love you.”
Mom and Will drifted back to their seats, and the celebration went on. As I opened the new hiking boots Mom had bought me as a birthday gift, I was able to suck it up and have some fun.
Thanks to Mamie.
Chapter Nineteen
The rest of the week dragged by. The weather warmed up into the low fifties during the day, and the sun melted most of the snow. Winter wasn’t over, the Groundhog told us that much, but it felt good to get a break. Even better, Carter steered clear and Ella was able to talk to me without blushing again. I finally relaxed some.
Then the Army called.
“Happy Birthday, Archer. Sorry I’m a few days late. How about Happy Valentine’s Day instead?” Colonel Black said. “I’m afraid I don’t have such a good present, though.”
At least he’d waited until after dinner. I flopped onto my bed and rubbed my temples. “That’s no surprise. But I’m ready to get to work. What’ve we got?”
“Sightings of Bigfoot again. And there’s more. Three hikers, college students, disappeared over the weekend. No remains. The FBI put me on alert once they determined there wasn’t any ‘human’ explanation for the disappearances.” Colonel Black sounded tired. “So you’re up.”
“Yes, sir. Find the beast, take it out.”
“Archer…” There was a long pause. “Have the Bears done anything more advanced recently? Like built shelters or pack hunt? Or shown signs of increased vocabulary?”
“No, sir,” I said. “All they’ve said is ‘mun’ for man, and yes or no. They still lumber around, too. A few of them, especially the females, have been wily, but that’s it.”
“The other creatures are reaching near human vocabulary levels, and are working in teams. Since the Bears showed up months after the Gators and Pandas, we’re trying to understand what their learning curve is.” He sighed. “Please keep me apprised of any changes.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll send a report later tonight.” Maybe we were lucky the Bears were still acting somewhat dense compared to the others, considering it was just me and Will out there.
After the briefing, I put my plans in motion. Since it was a Friday, sneaking out wasn’t a problem; I just told Mom that Will had invited me to stay o
ver. His parents would be out for Valentine’s Day.
“That sounds nice, honey. Need a ride?” Mom had her purse and keys in hand before I answered.
“Yeah, that’d be great. Let me get my stuff.” I hurried to my room for my hunting backpack and threw some clothes on top of the gear.
When we got to the Cruessan’s, Will was ready for me, flinging his front door open before I rang the bell. “Millicent,” he called, “Matt and I are going to play ping-pong in the garage for a few hours.”
After a muffled okay from his housekeeper, we waited in the doorway until Mom pulled out of the driveway. Then Will led me around to the garage, singing, “Here we come to save the day!”
“Mighty Mouse?” I said. “Come on, man, give us more credit than that. I think Spiderman. Maybe even Batman, what with all the gadgets we have.”
I checked the gas gauge on the ATV and made sure all the flashlights worked. “You know, it’s not going to drop below freezing tonight, we don’t have snow to deal with…good visibility, too. We’re due for a smooth hunt, don’t you think?”
“Great, you just jinxed us.” Will opened the garage door and we trooped out into the night. “Now we’ll have a catastrophe.”
“Wasn’t ‘catastrophe’ one of our vocabulary words last week?” I put my ski mask on, folding the brim back up over my eyes like a watch cap so I could see better.
He nodded and put on his ski mask, too. “‘Catastrophe’ is relevant to the situation, Matthew.”
“Okay, Vocabulary King, let’s get on with it.” With a grunt, I popped the ATV into neutral and gave it a shove. “Less talking, more pushing.”
When we got to the spot where we normally fired up the four-wheeler, the woods were silent. No owls hooting, no rustle of small animals foraging through the brush. Dead quiet. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled.
Will stood stiff, looking through the thick evergreens with a tense expression. He pointed into the woods. “I don’t think we’ll have to go far tonight.”
I followed his gaze. The head of a deer was spiked onto a broken tree trunk. Its ears had been torn off. “Good God, look at that.”
“Matt, we’re less than half a mile from my house,” Will said. “What if they start leaving the woods?”
“They haven’t yet. Maybe they’re too stupid to realize they can.” I clapped him on the back to steady his nerves, wishing my own stomach would stop churning. “Let’s leave the ATV here for now, track it on foot.”
I searched the ground around the decapitated deer head with my flashlight. The footprints leading into the center of the forest were on the small side—about as big as my new size-ten boots.
“Dude, I think we got another girl.”
“That makes my night,” Will grumbled. “The last one was a handful.”
“We’ll get her,” I said with more confidence than I felt.
The trail gave us a hard time. She-Bears usually moved with more caution than the males, so there were fewer broken plants to follow. We had to rely on faint footprints left in the damp mold and dirt. When I lost the trail for the third time, Will helped walk a perimeter, looking for fresh tracks.
“Ahh!”
I spun around to see the top of Will’s head and outstretched arm disappear. Scrambling through the brush, I ran to find that he’d fallen into a crudely dug hole. I knelt down at the edge. “You okay?”
Will rolled from his side to his back, then sat up with a groan. “Yeah. Stupid hole was covered with branches and pine needles and surrounded by bushes. I didn’t realize it was here until I fell in. There’s rocks down here, too; the floor’s really crunchy. Killed my back when I landed on them.”
I shined my flashlight down into the hole and gasped. “Uh, listen, we need to get you out of there.”
“Well, duh, Sherlock.” Will stood up. The top of the pit was a good foot above his head. Cursing, he crouched, then jumped and caught the edge . With a grunt, he hauled himself onto his forearms, feet scrabbling for purchase on the walls. I grabbed him under the arms and helped pull him out of the hole.
Will brushed dirt off his chest. “Where did this thing come from anyway? Could’ve broken my leg or something.”
Once he was safely on the ground, I showed him.
The bottom of the pit wasn’t just littered with the branches used to cover it or rocks like Will thought. Human skulls, femurs and ribs covered the bottom. If I had to guess, Will had landed on a foot-deep pile of bones.
“Oh, oh, oh…” Will staggered away, shoulders heaving.
While he puked against a tree, I examined the workmanship of the pit. This wasn’t like a dog burying a bone in the backyard. The edges weren’t gouged with claw marks. The walls were smooth, like they’d dug it using their paws and a tool of some kind. The size and shape alone suggested a plan. A group of Bears had worked together to build it. The hole was both a disposal heap, and a trap.
They were advancing.
Trying not to freak, I said, “At least we know where some of the victims ended up. Now the families can bury their remains.”
Will wiped his mouth. “We need to kill them faster. Before they start raiding gas stations and day care centers.”
“Then let’s go find our girl,” I said.
We picked up the prints again. Around the next bend in the trees, the She-Bear tracks mingled with larger prints for while, then split up. Two trails in one night. We would be really out late.
“Which one do you want to go after first?” I asked.
“The girl. Get it over with,” Will said.
I marked the spot in my GPS, so we could find the other tracks later, then set out after the She-Bear. Her trail led us downhill into a section of the woods I wasn’t familiar with. The trees grew in weird clumps, with bare sandy spots every so often. We found her less than a half-mile away, in a perfectly circular clearing surrounded by tall pines. The only way in or out was a narrow trail.
The She-Bear had dark fur, splotched with lighter patches. She was also bigger than the first female we’d fought, with the longest tusks I’d seen yet. Her eyes shone green through my night-vision goggles, and she brushed her coat with sharply pointed claws. While I watched, she rose to sweep the clearing’s floor with a dry pine branch. Once her spot was clean, she glanced around, her pointed ears swiveling. Seeming satisfied that everything was in order, she lay down with her back to us.
I passed Will the goggles. “You gotta see this.”
He checked her out. “Dude, she’s huge!”
“Did you see her sweeping up her spot?” I asked. “She had a broom! A broom!”
“Who cares if she’s doing some early spring cleaning,” Will said in a harsh whisper. He frowned and wrinkled his forehead like he was thinking hard. “We need a better plan than me flushing her out. Sneak attack, maybe?”
“Yeah…problem is, there are dead leaves all around that clearing and I’d have to come in from the back side, downwind from her,” I said, stumped. “She’d hear or smell me long before I got close enough to take her out.”
Will made a frustrated face. “Then don’t get that close. Throw the knife at her.”
I rolled my eyes. “You’ve seen me play darts. I miss the board half the time. Plus, I don’t have six throwing-daggers on me like some Imperial assassin. If I miss, I’d have to chase down the knife with an angry Bear on my tail.” I thought some more. “Maybe you could lead her into a trap?”
“What if she catches up this time? One of these days, the monster will be faster than I am,” Will said.
That gave me an idea. “Look in my bag. I brought some heavy-duty bungee cords with hooks on the ends. We’ll string them across the trail, about shin high, and when you run past, jump the snare. She’ll trip, then I’ll land on her back and stab her.”
“Worth a try.” Will stood. “Let’s go scout out a spot.”
We crawled closer to the clearing, careful to stay upwind. The She-Bear was fast asleep; her snores sounded li
ke a garbage disposal full of old pizza crusts. We didn’t take any chances, though, stopping thirty paces from the clearing, in the shadow of two mature pines.
“This is it,” Will whispered. “We tie the cord here, and you climb one of the trees then wait for us to pass by. You’ll have to jump quick, before she gets up. Can you do that?”
“You saw how well climbing a tree worked last time. I should just hide behind one.” I pointed to a deep shadow behind the larger of the two pines.
Will shook his head. “It’s too open out here. If she sees you moving, she’ll dodge the trap and kill you before you know she’s there.”
After some debate, we stretched the black bungee cord around the trees about knee-high, figuring that would catch the monster’s shins. We strained to latch the hooks together, pulling the cord taut across the trail. In the dim light, the black cord was really hard to see if you weren’t looking right at it. Satisfied, I climbed the tree and got settled, perching as far out on my branch as I dared.
“Okay. Ready,” I whispered. The knife trembled in my thigh pocket. I pulled it out and it glowed blue. “So’s the knife.”
“Here goes nothing.” Will jogged off to the mouth of the clearing and shouted, “Hey, Sleeping Beauty, what’cha doing?”
The Bear sat up with a start, whipping her head back and forth. Will waved at her and jumped up and down. She got to her feet slowly, like she was sizing him up.
“Mun.”
I could see Will’s back jerk nervously. Knowing they could talk didn’t make it any easier to hear.
“Yeah, I’m a man,” he called. “What are you? A walking carpet?”
She growled. That was a first. They usually shrieked or howled. But she growled low in her chest, a deep rumble that sounded like a hot-rod’s engine. Cocking her head to one side, she crept toward Will, her ears pricked forward. Her tusks parted in what could have been a smile. Chills ran down my spine.
He needed to run, right the hell now.
Before I could warn him, the Bear leapt. With a yelp, Will turned and fled my direction. Somehow he kept his wits together enough to jump the bungee cord before running down the trail, totally freaked. The She-Bear ran after him at an astonishing speed. She was the fastest Bear I’d seen yet; if she didn’t trip, we were both dead.
Matt Archer: Monster Hunter Page 16