The Pride

by Patricia Morse

  A look of satisfaction crossed his face.

  “That is quite impressive Evie, however Link sent a search party out for you! I thought I was a dead man!”

  “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to get you into trouble.”

  The rain had stopped, and the moon was trying to peek out from behind the leftover storm clouds. We walked in silence to the main yard, where Lexie was still chained to the tree. She was drenched and shaking like a leaf under her heavy chains. The helicopter sat perched in the grass, surrounded by what was left of Link’s army. Grizz was keeping watch over Lexie, careful not to get to close to arouse any suspicions. He was covered from head to toe in mud in order to conceal the blood left behind by his thirty-seven kills. Link emerged from the chopper as we approached.

  “I see Dr. Ganyon was able to find you my dear. And where, might I ask have you been?” Links attempt at politeness only came out as a condescending sneer.

  “Oh, I’m sorry Link. Were you worried? I know from experience how awful it feels when someone you care about doesn’t come home.”

  Link reared up and let out a mighty roar as he smacked me across the face, sending me to the ground. I was stunned for a second, but I was able to shake it off and spring back to my feet. Thane stepped between us, his chest heaving. Link wisely backed off and moved to the center of his circle of minions. Did he fear Thane? Perhaps the tiger in him made him reckless and crazy, but the lion in Thane made him stronger. Lions are after all King of the Jungle. I was trying to picture how their relationship fell into place, when I was interrupted by Link’s sinister voice.

  “Unchain the girl!” He pointed to Lexie as he barked his order loudly. He swiftly moved to her side, grabbed her by the arm, and brought her to the center of his snarling circle of hybrids. Lexie stood shivering in the cold. Lenny was moving closer to her. Link raised his arms. I heard a commotion from the opposite side of the circle. Everything in those few seconds seemed to happen in slow motion. Link lowered his arms. I saw Lenny flying through the air towards Lexie. My Camaro was plowing through ranks of army men, mowing them down like blades of grass. I cringed at the sight of my crumpled front end. Talon sprang from the driver’s seat and began running towards Lexie, a plethora of growling hybrids behind him. I looked to see Lexie on her knees, covered in blood. Where was it coming from? Thane went rushing to her side. He pulled an arrow from Lenny’s chest. Bright red blood gushed like a geyser from the gaping wound. Cam and Grizzly rushed to shield the doctor, the wounded soldier, and the damsel in distress from the oncoming mob. Thane ripped the shirt from his back and tried in vain to pack Lenny’s wound in an attempt to halt the increasingly rapid blood loss. Talon was still running towards them, I began running towards Talon to save him from the mob that was gaining on him. Link reached him first. I saw the flash of the syringe in his hand. “NO! Look Out!!!” The moon glittered off the needle for a split second before Link plunged it deeply into the back of his neck. Prions! He’d infected him with the hybrid virus. Talon fell like a heap onto the cold wet grass. I turned to go back to Lenny, but I was swept off my feet by unseen hands. Link was running with me towards his helicopter. The blades were now rotating. I heard a tremendous roar before I was released from Link’s grip, and thrown into the side of a giant tree. I felt the crunching of my spine first, then the loud crack of something below my waist breaking as I tumbled awkwardly onto the ground. I was unable to move and gasping for air. I looked to my left and watched helplessly as Link raced to the chopper holding his stomach and spitting up blood. I turned my head to the right just as Paul “Diablo” Nicholas flung Lexie onto his back and raced away into the forest. He was alive! I knew the boys had a secret weapon, I just didn’t know it was D. None of the hybrids gave chase; they just stood around us looking confused, waiting for someone to give an order. Talon lay less than three feet from my outstretched hand. He had yet to move, but was still breathing. Lenny was not. Cam and Grizzly sunk to their knees. Thane gently closed his eyes before making the sign of the cross and saying a silent prayer for this great fallen soldier. One of Link’s men graciously retrieved a blanket from a nearby truck and placed it over Lenny’s lifeless body. Another removed a cross he wore around his neck, and placed it on top of the blanket. Tears fell from my eyes as I said a silent good-bye to an honorable soldier, a noble friend, a brother I would never forget. I thought of Lenny, or the Luscious One, as he liked to be called, as I tried to keep the shock from overtaking my body. Unable to fight it, the darkness I feared drifted over me as I lay unable to move on the cold wet blue grass of Kentucky. A lone storm cloud passing in front of the lustrous golden moon was the last thing I remembered.

  Chapter 30

  The Aftermath

  Someone You Don’t Know

  My crew and I arrived shortly before seven a.m. The caretaker of the estate called me early this morning and said I’d probably need additional crew for today’s work. There had been some big party the night before. I stopped off at the Chevron and picked up some men who were looking for work. My rusty blue pickup truck crept up the drive, and I could see instantly that I’d probably need a few more men. The flowers had all been trampled, branches of the trees broken, garbage littered the grass. My perfectly manicured shrubs were ruined too. My men and I took tools from the back and began our day of labor. There were a few of the normal faces roaming around the grounds. They kept walking in and out of the western woods, yelling obscenities every time they emerged. I was busy raking up the remnants of a bon fire near two of the men that usually hang around the house. I guess they thought I didn’t speak English, so they never bothered to end their conversation.

  “What are we gonna do about all those bodies Drake? It’s a freaking massacre back there.”

  The one called Drake was scratching his head and looking serious. I started to wonder what had happened in those woods. I continued my raking a bit closer so I could hear better.

  “Let the wolves have them.” Drake said in a totally twisted way.

  The men walked away, and I went about my duties, until I heard the blood curdling scream of one of my crewmen. I turned towards the scream and Dios Mio there were several very large men tearing my man to shreds. I dropped my rake and began running towards my truck. The other men in my crew did the same. The man called Drake was laughing and pointing at us as we ran for our lives. We reached the truck, but could not all fit in the cab. My hands were shaking as I tried to turn the key. Three of us were up front, and I don’t know how many made it to the back as I began to speed away. My truck lurched to the side, like I’d been hit. The truck would not go forward. I could hear the screams of my men coming from the back. The passenger side door was ripped off, and my men were pulled out. What sort of creatures were these? I said a prayer as I felt myself being tossed from the truck. I knew in my heart that God was with me as I was ripped apart and devoured by the ravenous, heartless monsters.

  Chapter 31

  Reflections

  Lexie

  Diablo and I sped away from Bowling Green in a rented Chevy Tahoe. I couldn’t help but consider the paradox that our journey began together in Lake Tahoe, and we were running blindly to our next chapter in a Tahoe. These silly little thoughts were the only thing keeping my mind off of Lenny. Too much had happened; too much had changed in those few seconds. A wonderful man lost his life, freeing me, but changing my life forever. I used to try to imagine what life would be like without Lenny. I felt trapped, smothered under need for love and reassurances. My existence was gloomy when I left him, but I got over him. I wish he could have done the same, and moved on to the kind of life he deserved. I only wanted him to experience peace, to live a long life with someone deserving of his love. It was too soon for a brilliant soul like Lenny to leave this earth, and it was entirely my fault. The future I pictured for him was gone now because I was foolish and walked straight into danger. I remember hearing the whizzing sound as the arrow sped towards my heart, and in the next second, Lenny’s body was fl
ying in front of me, pushing me out of the way. It was too much like Iraq, only this time Len’s incessant need to keep me safe, cost him his life. I felt like a black hole had been punched straight into my heart as I watched the life drain from his beautiful eyes. I don’t know what would have happened to me if Diablo hadn’t pulled me away from the chaos. I can’t dwell on that right now. Oh, my gosh, what about Talon? He was running towards us just before D pulled me off of Lenny. Link’s army must have torn him to shreds. The air began to rush from my lungs, and I was getting light headed. D tried his best to assure me that Talon would be alright.

  It was hours later before we finally got news. We had just cut through Indianapolis, and were heading north on I-69, barreling towards Michigan when Diablo’s cell phone began to ring. Wanting to gauge his emotions, I didn’t take my eyes off of him as he spoke to Grizz. With little grandeur, D ended the call and stared straight ahead, as I sat on the edge of my seat and stared at him. The suspense was killing me. Had there been more casualties? I needed to know. Diablo finally took a deep breath and began to explain what had happened after we fled. Their cover wasn’t compromised. For all Link’s men knew, Cam, Grizz, and Evie had still converted to the dark side. Diablo and I, however, were considered enemy numero uno. No orders had been given to track us yet, but Grizz was sure they were coming. Link was currently missing in action, but was presumed to be recovering from injuries and probably planning more awful things for us. Evie’s poor little body somehow got mangled when he had knocked her away from Link. I could tell he was feeling such overwhelming guilt that he could barely breathe. I did my best to comfort him, but I knew he was going to beat himself up about hurting Evie for a long time to come. The bones in her neck had been crushed, and she had a compound fracture of her femur. Luckily, she couldn’t feel the pain when the bone of her thigh snapped in two, puncturing through her skin. Thane had repaired the damage, and she was finally breathing on her own. My heart stopped at the thought of Evie not breathing. Grizz and Cam were hopeful she would heal quickly and be back in fighting condition soon. The fellas didn’t know what was wrong with Talon, and it was unlikely that they could find out. Talon was found unconscious, lying near Evie. He was taken to a different part of the hospital, and wasn’t currently under Thane’s care. D assured me that he was breathing when they found him, and it was probably nothing more than a bad bump on the head. Grizz was going to try to find Talon after they were able to see Evie, and he promised to call back with news.

  Diablo and I were quite a pair; both of us could barely speak from the amount of guilt coursing through our bodies. No matter what Diablo thought, he did Evie a favor. Her pain would have been far worse had Link been able to take her away in his helicopter. At least her physical wounds would heal. He saved her from a lifetime of mental anguish caused by the physical and psychological tortures that Link would have forced upon her. We lost Lenny, but it was a small victory, that at the moment all of us were free from his reign of tyranny. Free to stop his forward advance on the human race.

  If anything, we may have set his plans back, and he too was regrouping. In his warped mind, my death would have been a show of his divine powers, solely for the purpose of rallying his troops for the impending battle against humanity. When Link and I were alone in my room at Lake Tahoe, he’d often speak of his master plan. I’d be queen of the world, ruling by his side. He’d command an army of superhuman hybrids, who would enslave the human race. He’d brag about our innate immunity from disease, and his ability to unleash a super plague against the humans to weed out the weak and enslave the strong. He had visions of his Platinum Palace being built on a mountain of gold. They were the ramblings of a mad-man, hungry for wealth and power.

  Laughlin created us as a last ditch effort to be the brick wall, the dead end of the road for Link’s quest to rule the world. We’d won the battle, but the war was far from over. All of us were stronger and wiser because of the hard-fought battle. We were all walking away with scars of different sorts, scars to remind us what we were fighting for. Lenny didn’t die in vain; he didn’t give up his life for me. He gave up his life to save our great country, no, our beautiful world from a maniacal terrorist. That’s how I was going to remember him; as a brilliant, golden hearted hero, a United States Marine, who gave his life so we all could be free. Thank you, brave soldier. Thank you for your courage, your compassion, and your dedication to protecting the land of the free, and the home of the brave. May God bless you, Lenny Banicek. You will never be forgotten.

  The End