by Dale Mayer
The other men paled as they realized what she was saying.
"I can't believe they are genetically modifying vamps," Chad said.
Lenther exclaimed, "And no matter what Moltere did, he didn't deserve his fate."
"Men have been looking to improve their species since time began," Motre said. "Human or vamp."
Tessa couldn't argue. "True. And now they have your tissue sample as well." She nodded at the device in his hand and added, "I don't know what that was doing, but I suspect it could track any number of things that would allow them to see what else your body could do."
"Thieves. Liars. Cheats," he spat. "If they weren't all dead, I'd kill them all over again."
The group around him snarled their agreement.
Chad stepped forward. "Please see if I have any of those in my body."
"Then it's my turn," said Lenther. "I don't want them to have anything of mine.”
Tessa realized they weren't going to go anywhere until she'd checked the men over. It didn't take long. She found one more black spot on Lenther's lower spine. She hesitated at the location then decided to be grateful that she didn't have to take the damn thing out of his butt.
It took a little longer with Motre asking questions every step of the way, but finally she had the device out of Lenther's body too.
And the look in his eye when he realized she'd been right was scary.
He was after blood now.
And not his own.
She hoped that they'd be able to find more vamps to kill. He had a serious need to punch someone or something. She hated being the bearer of the bad news. In the movies, the bad guys always shot the messenger.
That was not the end she wanted for herself.
*.*.*
Jared heard David racing behind him. He probably shouldn’t have made that crack about his mother, but it was true. And he was feeling incredibly misplaced right now.
He didn't have a mother and hadn't had one in a long time. Or a father for that matter. He might have obeyed his uncle's rules in order to stay at his house until he finished school, but he'd be damned if he'd start this stage of his life by not following his instincts. Right now, his instincts said to get the hell out of the mine as soon as he could. If they had to check this tunnel, which he begrudgingly admitted they should, then he wanted to do it fast and be gone.
Footsteps pounded behind him. David, most likely. Whatever.
Until his shoulder was grabbed and he was spun around. By Rhia. A very pissed off Rhia.
"I did not search for you, nurse you back to health, and possibly lose family members for you to pull a stupid stunt like this. I want you alive and well and not collapsed in some damn tunnel under a ton of rocks."
He glared at her, trying to ignore the laughter on David's face. He opened his mouth to argue and stopped.
"You were worried about me?" he asked cautiously. How long had it been since anyone had made rules to keep him safe? To show they cared? To keep him from getting hurt? Damn. He couldn't be angry at her for that.
He wanted to be. But his anger drained as if she'd reached out and yanked the dregs from him.
She gave him a stony smile. "I don't know what your life is normally like, but in my family we care about each other. We take care of each other. And we don't let them pull crazy stunts that might get them killed. And regardless of your upbringing, you are no longer alone."
It was on the tip of his tongue to bring Seth's name into the conversation, but the look on David's face warned him that was a door better kept shut.
The darkness in the cave settled deeper as he marshaled his thoughts. Rhia still had a hard grasp to his shoulder, so she was waiting for something. His anger these last few days hadn't allowed much room for being chastised like a little boy again. Still...
He owed her something, and respect was a place to start. He took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry. I should have waited."
The tension on her face eased. And her hand dropped away.
He added, "In my defense, I figured that the sooner we knew, the sooner we could get the hell out of here. I can't help but feel like the whole place can come down any moment."
She studied his face. He hoped the sincerity he felt was easily readable. He'd seen her strangle a man with one hand. She could break him in two without a thought. It was a hard reality.
"I know that," she said in a gentler voice, "However, it doesn't matter how fast we leave this place if we leave hauling out your carcass."
He winced. "Yeah, sorry again."
She led the way. "Now let's go. Fast in and fast out." She sprinted away into the darkness.
David fell into step behind her and Jared, who'd always considered himself a runner, lagged in third place. Damn. Was there anything these vamps couldn't do?
*.*.*
Serus stared at the computer unit in his hand. He was technologically challenged. He knew that. But this was the first time he wished he'd taken the time to learn all this stuff. And if he survived this nightmare, he swore he'd have David teach him. It would be worth the humiliation to know he'd not get caught in this position again.
This stupid little computer had the answers he needed and wouldn't let him have it without pushing all the right buttons. And damned if the buttons weren't on the small side. His thumbs were huge. And awkward. He clicked a few more times looking for a help button he thought he'd seen pass by.
Just when he was prepared to throw the damn thing, it buzzed in his hands.
"Holy crap!" He tossed it from one hand to the other. It kept making noise. He finally lifted it to his ear and yelled, "Hello."
Buzz.
His fingers danced over the buttons, looking for something that would shut the damn thing off. Shit. Shit. Finally it went quiet and left him feeling like he'd missed something important. He snarled out at the world in general. Damn place was full of tricks.
"What's the matter Dad, can't answer my call?"
At the sound of Tessa's voice, he stilled, then turned.
And caught her as she jumped into his arms. "Yay, I found you!" she cried.
She was alive. Thank God.
He buried his face in her hair and hugged her tight. She felt so solid, healthy. And he could barely hold his tears back. He'd thought for sure that this time she'd not get out of whatever jam she'd been caught up in. And once again, she'd proved him wrong. "Tessa." He wanted to say more but the words clogged the back of his throat. Finally, he dropped her to her feet and stepped back a bit to hold her by her shoulders. "Are you all right?"
She grinned, a beautiful smile that lit up her face and made his heart ache with joy. He snatched her back into his arms and squeezed her tight. Her laughter made him put her back down where she beamed up at him.
He lifted his gaze to the men surrounding her. Motre. Damn, that bastard was big. And pissed off. Serus grinned. "Glad to see you alive and well and not hooked up to an IV machine. Thanks for helping my daughter."
Motre snorted sheepishly. "It's actually thanks to Tessa that we are no longer hooked to the many machines that we were hooked up to," he corrected.
"And for taking out the tracking devices or whatever the hell they are that the assholes put into two of us," said the vamp standing beside him.
Serus raised his eyebrows and looked from the men's faces to Tessa's beaming face. "So you saved the day again?"
She shook her head. "So not. I got locked inside the room where they were. By the time Bart and I got out, you were gone. So I freed them and then they turned and killed all of the volunteer vamps that had been in the other room." She frowned. "And what happened to you? I wasn’t in that room ten minutes before I managed to climb through the ceiling and saw you were gone."
"Yeah, I'm not exactly sure what happened. I saw you enter the room and the next thing I knew, I was waking up in a lab room where the damned doctor was talking about restraining me before taking samples of my DNA." He
grinned, hard and flat, at his last few words. "They obviously didn't get anything from me."
"Good. They did from two of these guys and maybe from some of the others. There's no way to know how they are choosing who to get samples from. But if two of these three men had devices in them, we have to presume there are more in the others. We released dozens of vamps including two – no – four councilmen. I'm sure they have trackers. But we can't do anything about that right now. They've all left the mountain." She chewed on her bottom lip. "At least I hope they have, because they were carrying all the humans we found. Including my friends."
"They will be fine," Motre said. "They have a way out and they were all pretty anxious to leave."
"And Bart, did he leave too?" Serus had to wonder at that nuisance vamp. What was he up to?
She shrugged. "As far as I could tell. What that little weasel did after he was out of sight is anyone's guess. I wouldn't be surprised if he's hidden in another part of the mine."
"If he has, that's on him. We can't save those that won't let themselves be saved."
"Now that we've found everyone, can we get the hell out of here?" Chad asked.
"We need to find Goran and Cody, and I don't believe anyone has seen the soldiers that went ahead of us." She took a deep breath. "And I don't know about Seth."
Chad frowned. "We have no way of knowing where the soldiers went. And no way to communicate with them."
"As for your brother..." Motre lifted his unit. "Chances are he knows how to get out of here just fine."
She nodded slowly. She had no way to look for her brother and Motre was right. "He has insider knowledge of where to stay to be safe and how to escape this place."
She had to be satisfied with that. She glanced over at her father and saw the same fight warring on his face. Then he nodded. She added, "As for the soldiers, they came in prepared to do a job. So maybe they are fine, too."
"That's more like it." Motre said. "Now can we move on? I'd like to find the assholes that hooked me up."
"Hooked us up," Lenther pointed out.
Motre and his men were looking for a fight. Something they could release their frustrations on. But as Serus looked around, it looked like they were fresh out of bad guys.
For once.
*.*.*
Rhia tried to rein in her temper but it defied control. She'd been chasing after these kids for days now and they were still taking off on her. They hadn't let her go after Serus but for some damn reason they figured they could come down this stupid tunnel.
"Mom, he didn't mean anything by it. I don't think he ever had much parenting."
Good point. In Jared's case. To David, she snapped, "And what is your excuse?"
David fell silent as he ran by her side. She snuck a glance at his face. He wasn't angry. He looked philosophical.
"I guess I couldn't let him go alone," he said quietly. "And it was my idea. He's been through a lot and still he's stepped up to help us out several times." He rolled his shoulders. "I figured I could do no less."
That she hadn't seen coming. She shook her head. When had her kids grown up?
Jared streaked past her as if they were racing to a finish line, but he was slowing down now. Then he stopped and pointed at something.
Now what?
*.*.*
Cody stared into the black corridor. "I'm not liking this part. Why all the tricks? If this was built for the miners, why have things like this to stop people from getting to safety?"
Goran laughed. "Traps to let those out that were allowed out and traps to stop those that weren't. Clever really. It is a great way to get rid of someone you didn't like."
"True, but what if they needed the exit themselves?"
Cody glanced from the dark corridor to the stairs. "You'd have to be crazy to go into that corridor when you could go up."
But as the words flowed out of his mouth, he felt the draft of fresh air.
"Or maybe this is the way out and not the stairs upwards."
Goran studied the corridor. "Or the fresh air is to make you believe this is the way out but is actually part of the trap."
"Damn." Cody hated his father's insistence that this was a trap. That could mean all kinds of nasty things were waiting in there. He did not want to go inside. "I wish we knew where Tessa was. There's no point in going in this direction if she's not on the other end."
"They said they had maps of this place and showed the stairs up here. That most likely means they can see this corridor as well. And will likely use it to find their way here."
Oh, now that wasn't good.
Goran looked from one door to the other. "I wish there was a way to stop this one from closing behind us as we enter."
"Can you rip it off?" Cody suggested. In his head he started calling for Tessa. Can you hear me, Tessa? We think you might be walking into a trap.
"Can you hear Serus at all?"
Goran wasn't paying any attention. He was studying the way the door was hung. "I can't see any kind of hinge. How does this thing work?"
"I don't know. But if we can't prop it open, then we need to take it off."
Goran nodded. "Great. But how?"
Cody studied the door that appeared to be made completely out of one piece of stone and shrugged. "With brute strength, I suppose. Both of us together."
Goran raised an eyebrow. "Then get over here and let’s see what kind of damage we can do."
Cody joined him and leaned his shoulder against the door. "One, two, and three..."
Slowly it creaked open.
Then Cody heard a cry from deep inside.
"Someone is inside." He went to go in but his father called out, "Stop! It could be a trap."
Frustrated, he turned to face his father, "We need to know who is making that noise."
Indecision warred on his father's face even as Cody backed up into the entrance of the hallway. The door started to swing shut.
"Wait." Goran tried to hold the door open, but it was beyond stopping.
Cody squeezed back to his father's side just in time.
"Damn," he said as he caught his breath in the small room. "We need to open it again. Help whoever is stuck inside."
Goran strode over to the stairs up and stomped on the bottom stair. The door slowly opened again.
"You stay here and keep this damn thing open. I'll go in and get him." He didn't give his father a chance to argue. He raced in, took a long jump past the first trick square, and ran inside. The tunnel was dark and narrow and the floor uneven. He walked as fast as he could. The faint cries were just up ahead.
He almost tripped over the man crumpled on the floor. After a quick inspection, it appeared the man's leg was damaged. There was no easy way to do this. Cody tugged him upward. As a flier, it was almost impossible to carry people on his back as it could damage his wings. But in tough situations...there wasn't much choice
Cody called toward the open door where his father waiting. "Dad? I've got him. He's hurt though."
"Can you carry him out?"
"Working on it. The tunnel is too damn narrow." He grunted as he stepped over rocks.
"Can he walk?" Goran called out.
"It's his leg. Looks like a spike of some kind pierced it."
Goran frowned. "A silver spike?"
"No. Wood." The surprise in Cody's voice matched Goran's. Wooden stakes were old. It had to have been a trap that the guy triggered.
"Vamp or human?" Goran asked.
"Cody, is that you?" The vamp on his back struggled to get down. "Let me down. I can make it."
"Like hell you can. Stop moving. We'll be out of here in a minute." But inside Cody was stunned. "Uh, Dad... it's Seth."
*.*.*
"Seth?" Staring into dark narrow tunnel, Goran wished he'd sent Cody to step on the stairs. Being left behind sucked – to use the kids’ language.
"Yeah, we’re almost out."
He
could hear Cody’s heavy breathing as he helped Seth into the room. Damn, that boy didn't look so good.
"How bad is it?"
"Need to get the wood out of his leg, but it might be better to let someone else do that. He's sweating really bad too. I wonder if the stake was poisoned."
"If it was a trap, then most likely."
Seth whispered, "It was. I was told to use this hallway. No one would find me and I'd be safe."
"Who told you?" Goran snapped. He'd kill the bastard himself.
"A doctor," Seth gasped out. "I don't feel so good."
And he didn't look good. Sweat poured off his face and his skin was clammy and gray. His hands shook as he stretched them out to show them.
"Dad, we need to get him out of here."
Goran stared down the tunnel. Then back at the suffering boy. "Was anyone else in that tunnel?"
Cody glanced over at him. “I didn't see anyone, but I didn't go all the way to the end.”
"At the other end," Seth whispered, "More vamps."
Oh shit.
And Seth collapsed at their feet.
For the first time, Tessa wondered if they all might actually get out of here. Find Goran, which hopefully wouldn't be hard as they had the GPS to guide them then they could find an exit. She squelched the concern over the soldiers. They'd come into the mine prepared. Surely they would be okay?
Except for that weird energy surrounding the men. Maybe enhancement and maybe drugs. Whether they were volunteers or not, she had to admit she felt safer away from them.
Motre stopped a few feet ahead of her. He'd been following some kind of map he'd found in the GPS unit.
"There should be door here." He turned to look around. "But I'm not seeing one,"