Having been dropped to the ground, Blaze scrambled backwards on her hands and feet. Cindy cried out for her to remain close. At the same time, both Rick and Ren's sensors sounded off, indicating movement both behind and ahead of them.
Randall pushed through between Bixley and Gordon, knocking John sideways. Running toward Rick, he tripped and fell in front of Blaze, who had sat upright with her back against a small tree. On his hands and knees, he lifted his head and right hand; examining the mud and dirt on himself, he scowled.
Blaze reached for Walker’s hand, standing slowly as Randall screamed for help. Turning, Cindy rushed forward in an attempt to rescue him. Randall was pinned to the base of an old pine tree, a dirty hand across his neck securing him there. The widest part of the tree hid the rest of the creature’s body from view.
Clawing at the large dirt-covered hand around his throat, kicking outward and gurgling as he tried to breathe, Randall's eyes widened. Using the butt of her handgun, Cindy began striking the creature’s forearm, which was still exposed. Screaming loudly, it released Randall and was gone. Falling forward, clawing at his neck for air, he ran stumbling back to the group.
“I believe that men are generally still a little afraid of the dark though the witches are all hung, and Christianity and candles have been introduced.” Anaïs Nin
~Twenty-three~
And then there were ten. At the mouth of the cave, Shelby rushed outward to embrace her grandfather, then called to her mother, running to her. The dirt and grime on her pale skin told a story of its own; her eyes were wild as she pulled her mother’s face close, shaking as she did so.
“Something’s in the back of the cave. I can hear it,” Shelby gushed. Cindy, searching for a granola bar for Shelby, stopped suddenly.
“What?” Shelby, not releasing her mother, turned to Cindy with a haunted look on her face. She whispered fiercely, “Whatever it is, it knows Blaze, and I heard her name being whispered.”
Ren produced a long, dull tan waterproof cape, lined with wool. Gratefully, Shelby donned the cape, hopping from one foot to another in an effort to keep warm. Bixley helped Shelby put on the boots discovered only moments earlier. Finally feeling some warmth, she ate nervously with the others standing guard; Bixley sat close, her arm protectively around her daughter.
A thousand questions beat at the walls of Blaze’s mind. She looked past the dark recesses of the cave to the hot spring bubbling warmly within its interior. No one would be willing to voice any questions under the current conditions. Looking back, Blaze watched Shelby stare into the cave. Ren and Cindy spoke quietly with Walker, Gordon, Rick and John. They too were pondering their options. Leave and return to Snow Globe, or examine the hot spring cave.
The only clean part of Shelby were her feet; she had been soaking them in the hot springs for additional warmth. It seemed apparent to Blaze, based upon the fact Shelby had been able to seek warmth that way, the creatures had to have known she was within the cave.
As she wondered why the creatures hadn't entered and why Shelby had been left to run barefoot through the snow, a scream sounded out from above them. Rick and Walker took aim as Ren and Cindy organized everyone to move out. Smelling of sulfur from the hot springs, Shelby stood just behind Blaze, blinking mutely, staring dead ahead.
“Whatever is in that cave- it knows you.” Blaze too, stared ahead. She ignored the chaotic movements around them. Taking a step forward, she pressed her finger to her lips. Shelby nodded mutely. While the others were distracted, Blaze approached the mouth of the cave, leaning over to enter. Bixley, catching a glimpse, turned to take her daughter’s hand and watched as Blaze disappeared.
The rock ceiling was lower than she had expected; she stood at the mouth of the cave and took in a deep, steadying breath. Within seven steps she had approached the edge of the small hot spring.
Allowing her eyes to adjust, she stood quietly, peering into the dark. Something shifted and a rock moved. Tilting her head, Blaze crept closer around the narrow edge of the small pool shrouded within the recessed cave. Whatever was utilizing the dark moved a second time. Blaze heard Walker and Cindy call out her nameshe heard the sensor alarms going off in the distance behind her. Leaning forward, Blaze placed her palm flat on the rock closest to her and lowered herself into the dark. She had to know. Straining to hear anything, she waited, knowing she had very few seconds before Walker charged into the cave behind her.
Trust yourself. Blaze, her head turned, squeezed her eyes shut and thrust her hand outward into the dark on a primitive instinct. In the seconds that followed, time itself slowed as Cindy and Walker entered the cave, bearing light as Blaze stood with her arm extended out into the darkness beyond.
Walker yelled her name as a hand emerged. Swinging her face back toward the darkened end of the cave, Blaze watched in horror as a pale hand reached for hers, grasped it and pulled. Stumbling forward, Blaze landed on her knees as the creature wrapped its damp, sulfur-scented arms around her neck. The shouting behind her was lost within the adrenaline-charged heartbeats in her chest. Blaze looked up in the semi-darkness to see Matilda holding her tight.
“It would still be a long way until she was completely free, but the door had been cracked open and a smidgen of hope broke through the darkness.” J.E.B. Spredemann
~Twenty-four~
There were no words. Blaze held fast to Matilda as they scurried to exit the cave together. Barely aware of the gunfire, Blaze screamed when Ren pulled Matilda from her arms. Calling out her name and straining to her as well, Matilda fought against Ren. Inserting himself between the women, Walker raised his voice to force Blaze to focus.
“You will endanger her! We have to move, they want you. This was all set up!” Taking note of their positions, Bixley pushed Shelby behind her in the line, taking her place next to Blaze. Gordon and John refused to leave Bixley and Shelby's sides, flanking the girls with weapons drawn. They were family; Gordon had already lost Pat that morning.
As everyone waited for the all-clear to move out, the monster in Blaze began to pace impatiently. Finding Matilda renewed her hope for the future. She could feel something deep within pushing her, prompting her to search out one of the creatures with her own eyes. Defiance. She was feeling defiance.
Lifting her chin she turned in a circle, looking up. As the tree tops swayed in the pines, she stepped out of the line, taking advantage of the temporary chaos, moving opposite of the direction the group was facing.
The screaming from the trees had become somewhat distant, but the team remained vigilant as they began turning with swift strides to move back toward their camp. Two more steps away and no one noticed her absence. Three more steps and she was in the trees, obscured form the group’s view. With a deep breath, she stepped backward and with one more step behind a shrub they were no longer visible.
She knew enough. A primitive portion of her brain had entered a no-fly zone, and she chose to draw the Croatoan off of her team in a daring game of tag. A game with no winners. Refusing to lose anyone else to the Dark Sasquatch, Blaze turned away from those she loved.
And then she was running. As fast as her legs could carry her, she ran in the opposite direction of the group, charging through the underbrush, holding up her arms to guard her face, twisting under low hanging branches. They had to believe she had been taken or they would refuse to head back to the camp.
Slowing, she pressed herself up against a tree, looking up. At the point in her mind when she no longer cared if she was taken, her own inner monster sprang free from within its cloistered hovel and began pushing her to hunt.
Turning, she grasped a low hanging limb and pulled herself up. Reaching for successively higher limbs, she was soon thirty feet up in an old pine. Arranging her feet for both comfort and caution, she bent at the knees and waited. Knowing the creatures would happen by her tree wasn't enough.
Her heart pounded erratically in her chest as her inner beast paced, swishing its tail. It was stalking the moment
itself, savoring the hunt. Pacing her breathing, she waited. They would sense her. And they would follow her. Not caring, she unzipped her jacked, which had hindered her movements and threw it to the forest floor.
She heard Walker yell out for her. Adrenaline surged through her veins, causing the blood to pound loudly enough to drown out the concern in his voice. Knowing the creatures would hear him too, she braced herself for them to approach. Calling out to her twice more, he fell quiet. Slowing her own breathing until she was unable to hear it, Blaze heard a branch crack and several pine boughs rustling off to her left.
Matilda screamed her name. Pressing her palms over her ears she waited. Perched, ready to pounce, she steadied herself. Her eyes searched the greenery, tinged white with fallen snow. Another movement to her left but closer, caused her to turn her head.
Smiling, she eased down slowly, making herself more visible. She held with one hand to the tree limb above her, swinging her left arm outward. Her inner beast prompted a new reckless abandonment. A way to pull the odds in the favor of those she loved. She should have been cold but she wasn't.
When she no longer heard noises, she slowly eased down from her tree and moved to the forest floor. Walking away from her group, she trailed her fingers over the rough tree bark as she walked, trance-like and uncaring for her own safety. A twig snapped from behind her, causing her to turn. When she did, she picked up a thick limb from the ground and swung. The cry that emanated from the creature stalking her propelled her to strike again and again. Her eyes searched briefly, only landing on a blurred and crippled form moving away from her in a disjointed gait. Pursuing it she ran, courting a new freedom in her soul.
Here and there she caught glimpses of hands, hair and feet; she swung out in random rage, laughing. Hearing her own laughter she realized what she had been suppressing. She ran until her lungs felt as though they would explode, and then, suddenly she felt a new surge of adrenaline.
They climbed trees, screamed and charged her recklessly; still she pursued. When at last she thought she had led them far enough away from the group to assure their safety she turned, dragging the limb behind in her in the snow, leaving a marked and jagged trail behind her as she made her way back toward camp.
Heaving from the exertion, she paused occasionally to look back. Being predators, they would follow. Having been confronted, they would exercise caution and wait for opportunity. A primitive part of her brain welcomed the attack. Anticipated it.
As if they knew her thoughts, the creatures parted ways with her, leaving her to her solo march back to the camp, where she stood outside the laser alarm, waiting quietly until someone spotted her.
~*~
Inside the electronics tent Max shook his head, eyeing Blaze with skepticism. No one spoke as they watched her sip her hot drink and stare at the floor. Matilda sat quietly nearby, watching her friend intently.
Walker paced in the background, reminding Blaze of a caged animal. She counted his footsteps from one wall to the next while studiously avoiding eye contact with the others scattered around her. Equipment hummed and occasionally beeped in the background.
Cindy sat near her, seeming to want to offer support. Max was still watching her intently when Blaze raised her eyes. His expression startled her.
“To join them, and to run with them is to taunt them.” His grave concern was evident as he spoke. “You have assumed great responsibility in choosing to endanger this camp.”
Blaze shook her head. “How did I endanger the camp? I led those things away from the team so they could have time to get Shelby and Matilda back here. Why is it that I’m suddenly being watched like a spider in a jar?”
Max shook his head. When no one responded she stood, set down her mug and threw aside the blanket that had been placed around her shoulders. “Oh, I get it. It’s cryptic. We can’t talk about it, is that it? Because I'm not privy to all the information you have-or even the information they have…” She pointed accusingly to Rick, Ren and Randall.
Then she turned to her friend; only days before she had been mourning her loss. She dropped her voice. It broke with hurt as she spoke. “…or even all of the information you have. Isn't that right…?”
Matilda lowered her eyes in shame. “And, by the way, what’s the pecking order around here? What’s Randall even doing here? Yeah, Randall, I’m talking to you! You’ve been skulking around this camp not talking to anyone, smiling when you find out Judy is in shock, and in general contributing nothing- except for the death marathon you attempted in the woods endangering everyone; and I am being scrutinized for leading the creatures away from the team?”
Rick dropped his head, not speaking. Blaze advanced on him.
“You, Associate Pastor Extraordinaire, where the hell did you come from? And you-” She hissed at Max, “you dress like you've been herding goats your entire life but speak like you attended Harvard. What's your story?” Breathing heavily, she placed her hands on her hips facing the dire crowd in their varying states of assembly. Slowly, she approached Randall. “I thought you were in charge of everything. What are you doing here running around like a low land rat trying to find an escape hatch?”
Randall raised his eyes, clearly wanting to respond to the challenge. When he didn't Blaze, felt her heart skip a beat. “So, it’s supposed to be alright for all of you to live a double life, not offering the truth of your roles here in Camp Psycho, but you fully expect me to be content acting as the bait to draw these things out, as long as I do it your way?”
Max eyed her with something approaching disgust. Blaze eyed him in return with defiance and the room fell silent.
“You don’t know what to expect now that I've run wild through the trees, do you Max?”
Shaking his head, Max maintained eye contact. “They could have wiped me out any time out there. Why didn't they?” When he refused to speak, Blaze pushed her hand through her hair and reached for Cindy's discarded jacket. “Well, now they can find me in my bubble.”
Pulling on Cindy's jacket, Blaze stopped. “By the way folks, I thought the point of being out here was to rescue Shelby and Matilda. We've done that. And, you said you were going to try to sedate, relocate and execute them. Isn't that what was supposed to happen next?”
Blaze looked out of the tent. “Huh. Doesn't seem like anyone’s packing, does it?”
Walker stopped pacing. Fully facing Blaze, the truth resonated within him as well and he narrowed his eyes, understanding the cryptic remark.
“You were going to leave Blaze here.” Cindy dropped her head and rubbed her eyes. Looking away, Ren changed positions uncomfortably. Walker turned and watched the color drain from Blaze's face.
“Leave me? You were going to leave me, and Walker? Is that why you weren't afraid to share all of the information you had? We were expendable?”
Matilda rose slowly, searching the faces of the others around her, narrowing her eyes.
Max shook his head. “Blaze, you are vital to this operation. We would not leave you behind. If anything we will be insisting you remain a part of this community. The Summit will want you. We’re upset because we have no idea what you’ve spawned. If they didn't take you when you were in the trees, you may have just provoked them into a game of cat and mouse that we cannot stay ahead of.”
Exhaling slowly, Walker approached Blaze and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Keep talking.” His deep voice was impatient.
Max considered his words carefully. “They were taken by surprise.”
Blaze frowned. “What?” Nodding, Max sat down tiredly. “You surprised them. It is rare, but it can be done, as with any predator. I can only attribute it to your condition, but it is a temporary reaction. Like a shark being stabbed by a surfer; it may yield temporary results, but they will circle back on the rest of us, and then you.”
Walker’s hand tightened on Blaze's shoulder. “Then why aren't we leaving?” “They will be opportunistic, saving her for last. They will enjoy this. Blaze changed the g
ame. We can't leave. If we try and leave, they take it as a sign of weakness. We have to stay now and outsmart them, otherwise this will be like a slaughter.”
Blaze stood again, throwing her hands in the air. “Wait a second. The creatures left Shelby and Matilda alone out there. They even followed them! Has anyone debriefed her and Matilda yet or did you all just come directly to me for the public flogging? Why did they leave them alone? Strategy to get me, right?”
Clearing his throat, Randall raised a hand. “Obviously to lead the team into the cave and take them all.” The droll tone of his voice triggered something in Blaze and she faced him. His eyes met hers, and from beneath his sinister low eyebrows he seemed to cast her look of kindness. Slowly, he approached her. As he stood just feet in front of her, he assessed the other occupants in the room then turned back to face Blaze. “What you did was heroic.”
Swallowing, Blaze looked around the room with questioning eyes, then sunk disbelievingly onto a stool. Rick nodded in agreement from the back of the tent.
Clasping his hands behind his back, Randall looked around the room as well. “It is not difficult to see that you took on the responsibility of the entire team’s safety without regard for your own. Yes, Blaze, there are secrets here. Secrets that are well above government appointed classifications that you may never get to the bottom of- even with your perceptive tenacity. This group of Croatoan hunters, including me, are shocked by what took place today. What you did... It’s the first time anyone has taunted these top predators and survived to tell the tale.” Randall turned to Max, gesturing. “Max here knows more than anyone of us, including me, and he’s stumped by what happened.”
Randall indicated to a small rolling stool next to Blaze. “May I?” Sitting just inches below her, Randall looked up, kindly. “You are the MVP of this team for those reasons. We don't know what you're capable of. I'd hoped you would show some ability up here due to your illness, but this has taken us all by surprise.” The genuine tone of his voice soothed her nerves, and she took a deep breath- one which was short lived, as her own inner monster awoke, clawing at the back of her head. Wincing, Blaze stumbled to her feet, holding her hand over the area of her scalp that surged with electrical bolts.
Wolf Canyon: Cold Cat Mountain Book II (Cold Cat Mountain Trilogy 2) Page 12