by J. C. Diem
When Kala stepped outside, I closed and locked the door then walked over to the dresser. I searched the top drawer and was relieved when I found a small white jewelry box inside. I cracked it open to see the enchanted gold necklace was still there. It was the key to finding my mother when the time finally came to confront her. I put it back, closed the drawer then changed into a singlet and sleeping shorts. I had a feeling I was going to have another rough night ahead.
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Chapter Twenty-Four
Mark was sitting at the computer when I left my room the next morning. Instead of reading through files, he was watching Flynn on one of the monitors.
“Has he moved at all?” I asked then covered my yawn with a hand. My sleep had been just as restless as I’d predicted. As far as I could tell, Flynn was still sitting in the same position that we’d left him in.
“No.” Mark’s tone was weary and dejected.
“Should we try to feed him?”
“Let’s leave him in peace for now. We’ll reevaluate our options once we’ve taken care of the hydra.”
Kala was the last to rise. All of Kendricks’ men had showered and had eaten by the time she emerged from her room. She’d had as little sleep as me, judging by her cranky expression.
Together, we descended to the kitchen to eat and consume the obligatory mug of coffee. One of the agents was sitting in her usual seat at the dining table. She stared at him pointedly until he got the hint and stood. The rest of the agents decided it would be best to let us eat alone and they all vacated the table.
“What?” she asked when I shook my head.
“Way to make them feel at ease,” I said quietly.
“Oh yeah, I forgot about that.” She hung her head sheepishly. It wasn’t easy to remember that we were supposed to be normal and not to intimidate our guests. We pinpointed the agent who had searched our rooms by his scent. He showed no signs of guilt at invading our bedrooms and going through our things. If he smirked at us even once, I was pretty sure Kala would rip his face off.
When we were finished eating and had stacked our dishes in the dishwasher, Mark gestured for us to follow him. We left the O Squad behind as we hastened to the armory that stored our more powerful weapons. We were limited to using assault rifles rather than the heavier weapons like grenade launchers or bazookas. A girl my size shouldn’t have been able to carry one, let alone be able to shoot it with any accuracy.
We loaded up our backpacks with spare ammo. Kala and I slipped extra magazines into the pockets of our cargo pants for quick and easy access. Mark pulled the grenade out of his pocket and carefully handed it to me. “Try not to blow yourself up,” he cautioned. “It has a five second delay. As soon as you pull the ring, don’t hesitate, just run.”
“She knows what to do,” Kala said with an exaggerated eye roll. “Trust us. We’re not going to screw this up.” Decked out in head to toe black and holding an assault rifle, she looked both confident and deadly. I hoped I looked half as self-assured as she did. I had a plan, but it was going to come down to luck as well as skill to pull it off. I tucked the grenade into an empty pocket, making sure it was upright and that the ring wasn’t going to snag on anything before I closed the zipper.
Kendricks’ men had loaded the container that would hopefully imprison the hydra’s head into the back of their truck. They were right behind us as Mark drove the new SUV towards the gate. Zeus ran alongside us, unhappy at being left behind. It would be far too dangerous for him to come along on this mission. The hydra could snap him in half with one bite and I wasn’t willing to risk his life.
Backtracking to the campsite, we parked behind the hill again. The bodies of the fallen agents had been taken away by the Cleanup Crew. The hole that the giant snake had made still remained. Most of Kendricks’ men kept watch while the rest wrestled the container out onto the ground. The lid was heaved open and I caught a glimpse of the interior. It was just a normal metal box, but it was much thicker than usual. I wasn’t sure what alloy it had been made from. Whatever it was, it looked highly durable.
“Be on your guard,” Kendricks ordered his men and presumably us. “This thing could attack us at any time.”
Expecting the hydra to appear quickly, we remained hyper alert for the first half hour. It became much harder to remain vigilant after an hour passed and nothing happened. I wasn’t the only one who was restless by then. Kendricks’ men shifted from foot to foot. Kala was staring off into the desert, brooding about Flynn. Mark had taken his tablet out of his jacket and was reading something. He sent frequent glances around the area to make sure nothing was creeping up on us.
By the end of the second hour of waiting, even the most alert agent was bored. It was sheer luck that we had any warning at all that we were about to be attacked. Turning his head to hide a yawn, one of the agents stiffened when he saw something. Bending down, he peered at the ground then lurched back when a snake launched itself at him.
Over six feet long, brown and deceptively plain in appearance, the snake wrapped itself around his torso then bit him on the throat. I was pretty sure it was the Eastern Brown snake from Australia. They didn’t normally climb a person before attacking them. It was being controlled, which meant the hydra had to be somewhere close by.
Panicked and losing his ability to reason, the agent pulled his handgun from the holster on his hip and blasted the snake. The bullet passed through it and entered his neck. It tore his throat apart before it exited from the other side. He fell down dead before most of the men could even process that we were under attack.
The most venomous snake that had been stolen from the reptile park was now dead, but more snakes emerged from the dirt as the ground began to shake. The hydra had snuck up close again. It moved so quietly that we didn’t hear it until it was right beneath us. It burst out of the ground and several heads darted down to snap at the screaming men. One of the agents was snatched into the air. Shrieking in pain and terror, he opened fire. His bullets peppered the main head more by accident than skill. The main head recoiled and the secondary heads flinched. Bitten in half, his pieces fell to the ground in a shower of blood and ropy intestines.
“Keep it busy!” Kala shouted at Kendricks then shoved me into action. Now that the battle had finally commenced, she was completely focused on the target.
Two of the snake heads swiveled to follow us, but the agents fired at them to draw its attention away. Moving more swiftly than should have been possible for a creature that was as long as the truck and towered almost as high, it slithered forward. Wrapping one man up in its tail, it squeezed hard and reduced him to a mangled ruin. Again, I was reminded of Flynn. This thing was just as deadly as he was, but it had the added advantage of five heads rather than just one.
“Aim for the middle head!” Kendricks’ reminded his men. He fired his assault rifle at it and it paused when its eyes were obliterated. The other four heads froze in confusion, rendered temporarily useless once more.
Kala and I darted around behind the creature so we were hidden from its view. We were counting on its body being strong enough to shield us from the sustained gunfire that was coming from our allies.
“Are you ready?” I asked Kala. She nodded and lifted her assault rifle to her shoulder. We were hidden from the O Squad, but that could change at a moment’s notice. Looking around to make sure no one was in sight, I took a running jump and leaped onto the neck of the middle head. Its girth was so thick that my legs couldn’t wrap all the way around it.
Sensing that it was in danger, the other four heads swiveled to attack me. Kala fired at them, driving them back. One darted down and grazed my right arm with a fang. Blood welled and my flesh stung when its venom sank in. The pain only lasted for a few seconds before my body rejected it and the wound healed. I wasn’t sure if that was because of the vampire toxin that was already in my system, or if it was because I was a shifter. Whatever the reason, it seemed the hydra’s poison couldn’t harm me.
> With my legs wrapped halfway around the cold stone neck, I pulled myself up higher. Kala continued to fire at the creature from behind as the Obliteration Squad surrounded it from the front. Working together, they drove the ducking, dodging and hissing heads away from me.
When I estimated that I’d climbed high enough, I pulled my Beretta and emptied the magazine into the hydra’s neck. All five heads hissed in unison as a large chunk of stone fell away. Before it had time to heal the wound, I took the grenade from my pocket and pulled the ring. I shoved it into the hole and snatched my hand away just before the stone closed over. My plan had worked and the grenade was now trapped inside the stone golem.
Sliding down its neck, I leaped clear when I was still twenty feet from the ground. Turning in mid-air, I landed lightly on my feet and came face to face with an astonished Cortez. His eyes went wide in fear and he backed away a step. No normal person should have been able to fall that far without sustaining some damage. “What are you?” he asked in shock.
My cover was blown and I made a rapid decision to end him before he could alert his boss that I wasn’t human. Sensing movement, I ducked as the hydra whipped its tail at us. The sniper never saw it coming and my decision to kill him was rendered moot when the tail crashed into him. He was sent flying through the air with an agonized scream. Hitting the ground, he rolled for several yards then ended up face down in the dirt.
Our time had run out and I turned to Kala. “Run!” I screamed in warning and grabbed her by the arm. Sprinting for all I was worth, I dragged her behind me. The hydra surged after us and Kala kept shooting at it.
We only managed to run a few steps before the grenade went off. We were thrown to the ground by the force of the explosion. I was hit with several chunks of stone and Kala’s cheek was gouged open to the bone. It healed within seconds and she wiped the blood away with her sleeve. We sat up and turned to assess the damage.
As I’d planned, the hydra’s main head had been severed about two feet below its head. It rolled from side to side, trying in vain to get back to its body. Without the main head present, the body had turned to inert stone again. The four intact heads were only inches away from us. Their mouths were open and they were poised to bite. One had been in the process of spitting venom at us. A spray of deadly poison arched towards us and had been frozen in mid-air. It was connected to the fangs they’d been ejected from in a shower of liquid that had turned to solid stone.
Kendricks and three of his men hustled over carrying the box. Mark oversaw them as they gingerly picked up the head and dropped it inside. Two of the men threw the lid shut before it could spray them with venom. The stump of its neck scraped against the wall of the box. If it had been any longer, it wouldn’t have fit inside.
Spying Cortez’s broken body, Kendricks hurried over to him and knelt. I reached him just as he was rolling his agent over onto his back. The sniper’s gaze moved past his boss and locked onto me. Blood trickled from his mouth. It was obvious that his injuries were fatal, but his mind hadn’t quite caught on yet.
“She’s not…” he choked and lost his voice.
“Not what?” Kendricks asked with a narrow glance at me.
“Not human,” Cortez whispered too quietly for his boss to hear him. His gaze became fixed and he expelled a final breath.
“That was too close,” Kala breathed from behind me.
Knowing he’d missed out on hearing something potentially vital, Kendricks watched me for a long moment. He’d lost seven men in total and now his team numbered only thirteen.
“The Cleanup Crew is on their way to take care of the bodies,” Mark said as he put his phone away. The Crew had stayed somewhere in town, accurately guessing that their services would be required again.
Nodding silently, Kendricks closed Cortez’s eyes then stood. He brushed past me rudely, clearly blaming me for his agent’s death. If the hydra hadn’t killed him, I would have. He’d seen me do something that no human should have been capable of. I was lucky no one else had seen me in action. If they had, Kala and I would have wiped out the entire squad. Mark would have made up a story to explain their deaths, but we’d have no doubt been kept under close scrutiny by his superiors afterwards.
₪₪₪
Chapter Twenty-Five
It took eight men to lift the now heavier container into the back of the truck. They weren’t looking forward to riding inside the enclosed space with it. I couldn’t blame them for their nervousness. The hydra made furious hissing sounds and impotently banged against the sides of its tiny prison. It hadn’t shown any signs of being able to piece itself back together yet. With so little knowledge of who was controlling it, we had no idea what it was capable of.
To make it harder for the golem to re-form, Kendricks instructed his men to rig the body and four remaining heads with explosives. We moved behind the truck for safety and shielded our ears. One of Kendricks’ men triggered the explosion and stone flew everywhere, showering the truck with chips of rock. Thankfully, our new SUV was shielded from the barrage.
When the cloud of dirt settled again, there was nothing left of the hydra except for small pieces of stone and a large crater in the ground. Satisfied with the result, Kendricks turned to Mark. “What are you going to do with the head?”
“I’ll transport it to a secure facility that was designed to contain supernatural creatures and artifacts,” Mark replied. “For now, let’s get it back to the base.”
Kendricks was relieved that he wouldn’t have to deal with the remains of the hydra. His team had destroyed the EERI base, which had been their main goal. They’d then been roped into assisting us out of sheer necessity. He wanted to be gone and we’d all be glad to see him go.
For the final time, their truck followed us back to our compound. Mark opened the garage door and backed inside. The damaged SUV had been removed, presumably by the Cleanup Crew. They were nothing if not efficient.
Zeus bounded over to greet me when I climbed out. He informed me that he hadn’t seen anything strange while we’d been gone. “Good job,” I praised him. The danger might not be over yet, I warned him. Keep watch for anything dangerous. His gaze switched to the O Squad. Clearly, he still saw them as a threat.
Mark opened the backdoor of the van while Kendricks’ men backed up the truck so they wouldn’t have to carry the container very far. Straining mightily, the same eight men carried it across the short distance and heaved it inside the much smaller vehicle. The van sank down beneath the weight.
Mark opened the inner doors for the men and waited inside with them while they grabbed their gear. They weren’t gone for long and filed back outside. They barely spared us a glance as they climbed into the back of the truck. None of them said farewell to us. Kala gave them a sarcastic wave, which they ignored.
I had a feeling we wouldn’t be working with the Obliteration Squad again anytime soon. Their specialty was to take down EERI facilities, not to face the paranormal creatures that were held captive inside. Now that they’d seen the types of creatures we faced on a regular basis, it was obvious to us all that their squad was inferior to ours. Like Mark had said, our specialties were very different.
Kendricks took Mark by the arm and drew him aside. “I’ve never lost an agent before,” he said in a low, hard voice. “Thanks to you, I’ve lost seven members of my team. Those men can’t be replaced. I hope Agent Bailey is worth the sacrifice my team has made.”
Mark’s reply was far more controlled than mine would have been. “You’ve had a small taste of what my team faces far too often. We’ve hunted down and have killed things that would make your hair turn white if you even knew they existed. Without agents like Flynn, Kala and Lexi, the monsters would be free to roam and kill at will.”
Kendricks almost backed up a step at Mark’s fierce tone, but he managed to hold his ground. “You lost men and that’s regrettable,” Mark continued. “My team has saved countless lives in the course of our duties. Instead of blaming us for
your loss, you should be thanking us that any of you survived at all.”
Pressing his lips together to hold in what would probably be far from thankful words, Kendricks turned on his heel and stalked over to the truck. Kala and I moved to flank Mark. “That was awesome,” Kala said as the vehicle headed towards the gate.
“You’re my hero,” I added.
He smiled briefly and used his tablet to open the gate. “You were both exceptional today,” he said and Kala grinned at his praise. “I’m glad you weren’t forced to kill their entire team. That would have been hard to explain to my superiors.”
“You knew what our contingency plan was?” Kala asked in surprise.
“Of course. I had the same plan in mind if they saw anything that they shouldn’t have. They wouldn’t have given us any choice if they’d learned of your true natures. It would have been them or us.” Herding us towards the door, he let us enter first before he followed us inside. “Let’s check on Flynn and see if there’s been any change.”
Mark activated the monitor and a picture of Flynn’s cell came to life. There had been a change, but it wasn’t for the better. Instead of sitting on his bed unmoving, Flynn stood at the door. He was bashing his fists on the thick glass, trying to get out.
“It has to be the hydra doing this to him,” Kala said in anguish. “It must be close enough to be able to take him over again.
Mark agreed with her assessment. “I have to get it out of here. The sooner its gone the better off Flynn will be.” He disappeared into his room long enough to pack a bag before reappearing again. “I’ll need your help to load the container onto the jet,” he said when he returned. “I don’t want to leave Flynn here alone, but I’m afraid we’ll have to for a short while. I’ll transport the container to the facility while you two return here and watch over him.”