Parahuman (Parahuman Series)

by S. L. Hess

  Moving in another twenty feet he hurled one of the knives aiming for its left shoulder. It went deep and the wolf howled pain. Now it was lame on both sides.

  Sprinting forward as the animal staggered awkwardly and was distracted from the additional injury Devan did a full-round front flip over the wolf and landed so he was facing the animal’s backend. Leaping onto its back he wrapped his arm around its neck grabbed its brisket and squeezed firmly. It was a good thing Devan’s arms were long because the animal’s girth was extensive.

  The wolf made an attempt to twist its head to bite him but Devan was already sinking the other knife into its neck to the hilt. He wrenched the knife forward cutting almost half the animal’s neck open and spilling blood all over both his arms. It died instantly, collapsing under him.

  Devan pulled his arms out from beneath the animal and stood over it breathing deeply. He wasn’t necessarily winded but the adrenaline from the pursuit and take down had caused his heart rate to increase.

  Suddenly, a piercing scream calling his name echoed through the forest and Devan’s heart stuttered. Laney!

  Spinning, he ran faster than he had ever run before. Nearing her position in the tree he saw what was causing her terror. The three missing wolves had made an appearance under the tree and were snarling and growling ferociously. One of the wolves was actually clawing its way up the tree, like a bear would.

  They must be going after her because his scent was all over her and the tree. Laney was attempting to aim the gun at it but the animal kept shifting around the trunk of the tree making it impossible for her to get lock on it. While her attention was focused on that wolf another of the wolves began to work up the tree toward her.

  Panic and rage overwhelmed all logical thought and with no plan of action Devan ran hell bent into the fray; his only thought was to get to her even if he had to throw himself into their mist.

  A rumbling rose up through his abdomen; it burst out of his throat in a savage growl. It would have surprised him or caused him concern at any other time, but his concern lay elsewhere at the moment.

  The wolves, upon hearing this sound, shifted their attention immediately from Laney to him. The two wolves that had been climbing the tree dropped to the ground and began to run in his direction while the third turned and ran in the opposite direction toward the south.

  Devan’s emotions calmed significantly as the animal’s attention switched from her to him. The frantic haze in his head cleared at the knowledge that Laney was safe and with that information he slowed his hasty run. Forcibly separating his thoughts from his feelings he unsheathed two more knives and examined the area where they would converge. A swift mental calculation and examination of possible scenarios provided him with best possible attack.

  Both wolves were keeping an equal and steady pace, as though they wanted to make sure they reached him at exactly the same time, a straight on simultaneous attack. It looked like one of them was prepared to die in the expectation that the other would slip in while his attention was diverted.

  An unexpected gunshot and the stumbling of one of the wolves made Devan quickly recalculate his attack. The wounded wolf slowed and almost fell, but the other one kept coming. Five feet from the wolf Devan rotated to the right and slashed at the animals’ side with both knives imparting two, three inch lacerations.

  Unable to avoid contact altogether Devan stumbled backwards slightly as the wolf’s large body knocked into him. It caused him to fall to a crouch position to gain his balance.

  Seemingly unaffected by the cuts the wolf did a rather impressive ‘turn on a dime’ rotation going for Devan’s throat. Devan brought his arms hastily up in a crisscross fashion as the wolf crashed into him, its teeth going for his jugular. He slammed backwards on to the forest floor from the force and power of the animal slamming into him but was able to hold it off with his affixed forearms in the wolf’s neck. Its sharp teeth and hot breath were three inches from Devan’s face, and he was utilizing all his strength to keep it from ripping into him.

  There was a scream in the distance that Devan knew came from Laney as she observed the attack. The wolf had planted its paws on either side of Devan’s shoulders and was pushing forward with all his strength trying to get to him. He utilized this element as he pulled his crossed arms out and away from the animal slashing the knives he held through the animal’s neck nearly severing the head from the body. Blood gushed from the open wound pouring over Devan’s chest as he hastily pushed the animal off him.

  Moving quickly into a crouched position he looked towards the other wolf. It hadn’t stayed down long, having already gained its equilibrium it was almost upon him. Devan took note that its left hind leg dragged a little just before the animal dove for him.

  Reflexively, Devan flung himself to the ground on his bac. Lifting his legs he wedged his feet in the animal’s underbelly and shoved it. It flew over his head, soaring through the air about twenty feet before crashing and rolling head over rump.

  Flipping to his feet Devan watched the wolf as it came to its feet laboriously. They faced each other for barely a second before the wolf charged again; its injured flank slowing its gate slightly.

  Devan turned and sprinted for the nearest tree five yards away. Running up the trunk of the tree about ten feet, he executed a back flip and landed behind the wolf as it made to follow him up the tree. Devan stepped forward and slammed his knives into each side of the wolf’s neck slicing down through arteries, sinewy, and flesh. Blood flowed and the wolf folded sideways falling to the ground with a dull thud.

  Standing completely motionless Devan tilted his head back and listened to the forest. He could detect no sign of the last wolf and its absence led Devan to assume―which he never like to do―that the animal had a different agenda then the other wolves. It could possibly be a tracker in the event their prey, him, wiped out the pack, which he had. Then the animal was to trail him from afar.

  Or it could be checking in with a nearby handler. If this was the case; how near was the imperative question?

  The forest was eerily quiet of even the smallest animal sound. It was as though they were all watching and waiting for whatever might come next, all except Laney who continued chanting, “Please God let him be alright”. Beyond that he identified another sound in the distance; it wasn’t naturally induced, and it caused a heaviness to settle in his core that spread out to encompass his entire body.

  “Laney, I’m all right.” Devan called out as he darted back to the tree.

  She made a strangled sound and the chant changed to, ‘Thank you, thank you’; that is until he came into view and he heard her gasp in horror. It made him aware of all the blood he was covered in.

  “It’s not mine.” He reassured her quickly.

  The alarm in her eyes subsided not one iota. “You’re covered in blood.” She choked out and started to clamber down the tree. Devan could see that her face was pinched from exhaustion and worry, and there were more dried tear tracks down her cheeks. His heart squeezed at everything she’d been through today.

  “I’m fine, not a scratch. This is from the wolves.” He assured her. When she neared the base of the tree he assisted her to the ground.

  As soon as she hit the ground Laney turned and her hands began investigating his body frantically for wounds. Jerking at his shirt she yanked down the neckline and pulled up the sleeves. When she didn’t find anything she reached down and tugged up the bottom. As she did her hands grazed his sides and the touch made him twitch away instinctively. She looked up at him in fearful concern.

  “You are hurt.”

  “No, actually that tickled a bit.” Devan declared sheepishly.

  She frowned and her gaze and hands returned to examining his abdomen. “So, you’re really not hurt?”

  Devan pulled his shirt up completely revealing bloody but smooth skin. “See, unharmed.”

  Her gaze roamed over his torso. “You’re really fine.” She said, sounding like she couldn�
�t believe it.

  Dropping his shirt Devan reached out and brushed at the dried tear marks on her face, but ended up leaving a small streak of blood instead. He winced at the sight. That could have been her blood. The wolves had been so close to getting to her, and it would have been his fault, again.

  “I’m fine, I promise.” He said gruffly.

  Laney sandwiched his face between her hands and forcefully turned his gaze back to hers. He allowed her. “Don’t you dare.” She said, her eyes fierce. “I know there’s some kind of blame or guilt going on in your head, but it’s not your fault. And you need to remember that if you hadn’t been here there’s no telling what Jarrod might have done to me. You saved me.” The green of her eyes went soft and warm.

  All Devan wanted to do was fold her into his embrace and hold her forever; protecting her from anything that could harm her. She swayed suddenly, exhaustion flooding her face. Devan held her careful of the blood covering him and lowered her to the ground.

  “God, I’m so beyond tired right now.” She said in a weary voice.

  Devan sat her down against the trunk of the tree. “Rest here.” In the distance Devan could hear the search party yelling, they were closing in fast. It was quite likely that they had heard the gun shot minutes ago and were double timing it this way.

  He walked over and grabbed the nearest dead wolf and began hauling it away toward some brush to the east. When they found Laney they would head back toward town which was to the west.

  “Why are you doing that?” Laney asked.

  Devan walked back reaching down for the second dead wolf. “There is a search party coming this way. I need to hide the wolves until I can do something with them.”

  After towing away the last wolf Devan made his way back over to Laney. Kneeling down in front of her he took her hands. What little blood he got on her would be attributed to Jarrod’s broken nose.

  The tired look in her eyes turned to anguish. “You have to leave.”

  Her words weren’t a question so Devan didn’t respond. The pain Devan felt was worse than any wound he could have possibly received from the wolves. Laney struggled to her knees and made a move to embrace him but he held her arms away.

  “I have blood all over me.” There was no way she would be able to explain being covered in blood. How he wished they could have though, one last time. He touched his forehead to hers instead.

  “I don’t want you to go,” she cried, her breath hot on his skin. More tears streamed from her eyes.

  “It seems like I’m always making you cry.” Devan stated helplessly.

  “There you go again, taking the blame.” She whispered chokingly.

  He inhaled deeply getting a goodbye whiff of her incredible scent, wanting it to stay with him always, knowing he would never forget it. “Would it make you feel better if I told you it never would have worked between us?” The thought didn’t make him feel better.

  “I don’t believe that.”

  “Believe me, there are just too many things to list.” The Company, mutant animals, his own mutation, possible other mutations in the future; and those were just the central ones.

  They knelt there for a long time; their foreheads touching and their breaths mingling. The last wolf was getting farther and farther away which would result in a longer pursuit of it, but Devan didn’t care. These were his last moments with Laney and he wasn’t going to rush them.

  Devan could hear the shouting of the search party getting ever closer. He knew that Laney could hear them now because she tensed against him. Looking off to the east he could see the group, it consisted of three men and a woman. They were approaching at an angle that would take them south of Laney’s position by a half mile. He had to go now or they would pass her by.

  “You’re going to have to yell for them.” Devan said, breaking the silence.

  She gripped his hands tighter in response.

  Grasping her arms he looked down into her grief filled eyes. “They’re to the south of you, about a half a mile. Call out to let them so they know that you’re here.” Devan urged. Bending down he gave her one last kiss. Tearing himself away was one of the most difficult things he’d ever done.

  Rising from his crouched position Devan soaked in her feature one last time; her almost black glossy hair, the freckles dotting her nose and cheeks, pink lips wet from her tears and his kiss. It was her beautiful green eyes that he wanted to get lost in though. Lose himself and never be found again. He took a step back.

  “Devan?” Those spellbinding eyes entreated him to stay.

  Devan forced his leg to take another step back. It was torture. “Goodbye, Laney.” Swiveling on his feet Devan raced away.

  A sob same from behind him making him falter and nearly causing him turn back, and though his chest felt like it was being pulverized and ripped out he held his course. The forest began to blur and Devan blinked to clear the moisture that was obscuring his sight. Tear ducts that he had long thought dried up spurted to life.

  Having run about a half a mile Devan turned because Laney hadn’t as of yet yelled for help. He could see her gazing in his direction unable to see him, crying. His pulverized chest became even more macerated and he unconsciously took a step toward her, but the movement of the search party halted him. They’d heard her sobs and were making their way in her direction.

  With one last longing look at her hunched form, wishing things could have been different, Devan turned to the south to begin his search for the last wolf.

  A burning anger settled alongside his desolation. The Company was never going to give up. If it hadn’t been for the wolves he would have been able to remain in Silverton longer; been able to actually get to know another person.

  Not just any person. Laney; singular, in all ways.

  But no, The Company had to get their billion dollar experiment back. They wouldn’t allow him to live in peace, or possible live at all.

  The farther he ran, the more distance he put between them, only caused further annihilation to his heart. His breathing became painful, almost like he had run for hours when he’d only just begun.

  The self-indulgent sentiment of unfairness hit him. Devan knew the feeling was unreasonable and illogical, but it was still there. If only there was some way things could be different.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Seventy-nine hours later

  I stood absolutely still in the dark of the woods. The sun had set over three hours ago but it was still early in the evening, around nine o’clock, and the temperature was a balmy thirty-eight degrees. Everything was quiet on the grounds, but I could hear faint noises from inside mostly from a television. It was speaking on the possibility of making a bullet curve in the air, around an object.

  I wasn’t sure what program they were watching, but the prospect of that was nil to none.

  I had been watching the house for hours waiting for the girl to be left alone, but the man was always there. At the moment the girl was on the couch seemingly engrossed by the bullet bending television program. During a fifteen minute period I observed the man get up and go to the kitchen for popcorn, he then came back offering some to the girl which she refused softly. He went back to the kitchen and filled a glass with orange juice which he brought back to the girl setting it on the table next to her. She thanked him but left the glass untouched. The man then went back to the kitchen, but not to get anything, instead he sat down at the table and put his head in his hands.

  I didn’t see any other movement inside the house besides his. Inhaling one more time I couldn’t find any disturbing scents in the air. All seemed clear.

  At around nine-twenty the girl stood up and headed up stairs, calling out a ‘good night’ to the man. He lifted his head, his expression strained, to return her ‘good night’. He then proceeded to go back to putting his head in his hands.

  A light went on upstairs, and then came the sound of running water. After three minutes the water shut off and the light went out. Foots
teps made their way down the hall and then a light in another room came on. The girl walked past the curtained covered window twice and then the room went dark.

  I crept up to the house cautiously since there was an outside yard light on. There was an exceptionally large oak tree near the house and its branches stretched up to and over the roof, as well as the back porch roof. The tree was simple to ascend and then I walked a branch over to the porch roof and stepped down noiselessly making my way over to the girl’s window. The roof’s structure was sturdy and didn’t creak at my weight. You couldn’t beat good craftsmanship.

  A look through the window’s sheer curtain’s revealed the girl curled up in her bed. The covers were pulled up over her head and I could hear soft muffledsobs; as if she were crying into her pillow trying to hide the sound from the man downstairs.

  I reached for the window.

  ∞ ∞ ∞

  Laney wept softly into her pillow. For three days she’d stayed holed up at home and been walking around in a fog or crying her eyes out. She knew she was worrying her father but she couldn’t seem to pull herself out of the funk she’d fallen into.

  When Devan had taken off and left her sitting under that tree all she’d been able to do was cry. The search party consisting of two teachers and the parents of one of her school mates had converged upon her a few minutes later. They’d been full of concern, but also filled with questions. The only thing Laney had told them was that Jarrod had taken her from her house at gun point hauling her through the woods to a shack in the middle of nowhere.

  They all knew Jarrod and had been stunned at her declaration. They’d asked if he had been shooting at her because they heard a gunshot earlier. Laney told them she’d escaped from Jarrod and had discharged the gun in the hopes that someone would hear it and come looking.

  For not having told a lot of lies in her life the falsehoods were rolling off her tongue.

  The men had taken turns carrying her back to town. Exhausted from everything that had happened that day Laney had fallen into a fitful sleep, awakening briefly whenever they’d transferred her from one pair of arms to another. She’d been groggily aware of riding in a vehicle and arriving at the small health clinic they had in town.