‘Well you’re just beautiful aren’t you,’ she muttered, as the female approached her, sniffing her swollen belly. ‘Yes,’ she reached out and touched her head, ‘they are my young. Do you have any of your own?’
The female let out a plaintive cry.
‘You miss them don’t you?’ she replied.
Olivia looked up and scanned her surroundings; she could feel more eyes in the darkness closing in. Leaning down she picked up the book and wrapped it in her arms.
‘I have to get to the Hollow,’ she spoke quietly. ‘Are you going to try and stop me?’
The black one nudged her slightly and the white one took a few tentative steps forward.
‘You’ll come with me?’
The female let out another cry.
‘Thank you,’ Olivia let out a shaky breath, grateful to no longer be alone.
They began to walk again, picking up the trail through the woods toward the Hollow. The closer she got the more her heart pounded and the licks of panic threatened to choke her.
‘Do you have names?’ she asked randomly, needing the distraction and feeling the panic recede slightly if she concentrated on her companions.
The black one turned to look at her and she could’ve sworn his eyes looked amused.
‘I bet Hades didn’t even bother to give you names, did he?’ she rolled her eyes. ‘It would be just like him, but I can’t just keep calling you ‘the Gata.’ You’re individuals and you need your own identities.’
Her mouth pursed slightly as pondered the names of famous duos.
‘How about Bonnie and Clyde?’ she glanced over at the female who sniffed indignantly.
‘Too Gangster?’ Olivia shook her head, ‘no I get it, you’re right. How about Sonny and Cher?’
Met with silence she continued to roll names over in her head as she walked through the darkness, flanked by her giant feline friends.
‘Siegfried and Roy?’ she shook her head, ‘no, definitely not... I’ve got it.’
The black one turned to look at her, almost as if he’d been following her conversation of random thoughts.
‘How about Lois and Clark?’ the female turned her head and looked at her, ‘no, hear me out. Lois is a tough yet feminine, kick ass reporter, who doesn’t take any shit from anyone and Clark? Well Clark is Superman, enough said! He’s a Superhero…’
When they both turned back and kept walking she took that as an affirmative.
‘Okay Lois and Clark it is,’ she smiled, feeling a little silly but marginally better.
The others looked on in concern as Theo ran back down the stairs.
‘She’s gone,’ he headed toward the front door yanking it open and running out onto the porch, his hawk like gaze scanning the tree line. Unable to see her he hurried back inside the house.
‘How the hell did she get past us without anyone seeing?’ Jake frowned.
‘She has the damn compass, she could jump into the middle of Disneyland and none of us would know,’ Danae replied.
‘We don’t know how long she’s been gone for, or how far she’s gotten into the woods,’ Theo grabbed his coat and pulled it on roughly. ‘We can’t wait; grab your weapons, we’re leaving now.’
There was a mad bustle of activity as they all grabbed their supplies and coats, and headed for the door.
Sam scowled angrily as he grasped Theo’s arm and pulled him aside.
‘I’ll head out on my own and search for her, it’ll be quicker. You all, be careful when you head into the woods, it’s dangerous.’
Theo nodded, as he watched his friend disappear.
‘Be careful,’ Louisa stepped out onto the porch, kissing her husband and watching them all descend the steps. Then they crossed the grassy expanse between the house and the edge of the woods at a quick jog.
She watched as one by one her husband and her friends disappeared into the tree line. Rocking the baby at her shoulder, as much to comfort herself as him, she finally turned to step back inside the house when a small ball of fur shot past her legs, out of the door and down the steps. He was crossing the grass, heading towards the woods before she could stop him.
‘BEAU!’ she shouted in alarm, ‘BEAU!’
Jolted awake by her sudden shout the baby started wailing in her arms. Unable to do anything about the small dog, she headed back into the house, her heart pounding and her eyes filled with tears.
‘What’s going on?’ Simon Flores stepped out of the dark, nondescript van as Corinne approached.
‘I’m not sure,’ she replied, ‘but we’ve got movement. Everyone went tearing off into the woods fully armed.’
‘Was Olivia with them?’
‘I couldn’t get a good look,’ she shook her head, ‘but whatever’s going on, I get the feeling it’s all about to go down.’
Simon looked up at the sky and its brightly lit power grid of sizzling lightning.
‘Perfect,’ Simon smiled coolly. ‘While they’re all busy chasing monsters in the woods we can grab Olivia while they’re distracted.’
‘I don’t know Simon,’ Corinne frowned. ‘I know you want Olivia West in our custody, but is it really worth it? Those woods are crawling with creatures.’
Simon reached in his pocket and pulled out three talismans, each one looking like a tarnished coin and threaded on a leather thong.
‘Where did you get those?’ she asked suspiciously.
‘I figured we’d need some insurance,’ he tossed one to Corrine, watching as she slipped it over her head before he did the same with his. ‘These will repel pretty much anything. The creatures won’t bother with us; we should just be able to slip through undetected.’
‘Karen,’ he knocked on the tinted window of the van.
Karen Wilson, Olivia’s doctor, climbed out of the car pulling out a plastic container. He handed her the third talisman, watching as she pulled it over her head.
‘Been pilfering the archives again?’ she asked dryly.
‘Better that than us dead,’ he shrugged
She laid the container on the hood of the van and unclipped it, taking out three tranq guns. Loading them up one by one she handed them to Corinne and Simon.
‘Be very careful,’ she warned them, ‘we don’t want to harm her children. Use one dart only, it’s enough to knock her out but be careful how she falls. If you can get to her without knocking her out that would be preferable.’
Corinne nodded.
Dressed in dark clothes, they each pulled dark ski masks down over their faces. Leaving the car parked just out of sight along the main road outside Olivia’s property, the three of them entered the woods.
‘Damn it,’ Jake swore, ‘it’s too dark in here, I can’t see a damn thing.’
‘It shouldn’t be this dark,’ Roni frowned, ‘the sun hasn’t set yet.’
Danae’s eyes widened. ‘I don’t think it’s caused by the sunset,’ she reached for her whip.
‘What do you mean?’
‘The darkness,’ she replied her voice laced with urgency, ‘it’s a shadow creat…’
Suddenly she was knocked off her feet and thrown back several meters to crash against the trunk of a tree. The huge shadow lifted like a giant bat, shifting toward Davis.
‘WRAITH!’ he shouted. ‘RUN!’
The others took off, scattering in different directions. Tommy and Jake ran to the left, Roni and Calypso to the right, whereas Theo headed straight on followed by Mac. Plunging into the tree line they could hear Charles and Davis as they took on the giant shadow creature which Davis had called a Wraith.
Tommy and Jake ran, feeling the signs of pursuit all around them. Something howled in the trees beside them and both of them slowed, drawing their guns.
‘Wait!’ Jake stopped Tommy, ‘if we fire into the trees we risk hitting one of the others.’
‘Shit!’ Tommy holstered his weapon and raised the old rusty looking sword Calypso had giv
en him. ‘Jesus, I hope this thing doesn’t snap off in my hand.’
Jake raised his own sword, his gaze darting amongst the trees. He sucked in a sharp breath as a huge skeletal hound stepped into view followed by another and another, their matted fur and tattered flesh hanging from bleached bones. Their white eyes were fixed on their prey as thin threads of drool hung from their jaws.
‘Hell hounds,’ Jake growled.
Tommy looked across at him and grinned. ‘Don’t worry man, I got your back.’
Jake lunged forward as the first one leapt. Pitted metal sword in one hand and his knife in the other, he sliced across its underbelly and rolled, coming up in time to twist and plunge his knife between its shoulder blades. He watched in satisfaction as it detonated in a shower of black ash.
Roni and Calypso ran in the opposite direction, cutting through trees and fallen branches. Roni’s eyes widened and she skidded to a halt on the damp leaves. Directly ahead of them was a vast sea of strange looking creatures. Stooped over and hunched, they dragged their limbs in an uneven gait as they headed toward them, looking like something from an episode of the Walking Dead.
‘What are they?’ Roni asked, raising her crossbow.
‘I’ve never seen anything like them,’ Calypso tilted her head as she watched them carefully.
Roni tightened her grip on her crossbow, aiming at the nearest man creature.
‘No,’ Calypso grabbed Roni’s arm, ‘save your arrows. They’re made of mud.’
‘Mud?’ Roni breathed heavily.
‘The weapon will have no effect, but I can.’
Roni watched in horrified fascination as Calypso drew up to her full height; her skin began to ripple, becoming translucent. Although Roni could still make out her features, Calypso was now entirely comprised of water.
‘Be ready to run,’ she turned to Roni her voice reverberating strangely as if she were speaking underwater. ‘Once I clear a path through them, follow in my wake.’
Roni nodded, bracing herself.
Calypso reared up like a giant wave, crashing through the undergrowth and over the strange looking mud men. They were washed out of the way as if caught by a turbulent tsunami, unable to stop themselves from being swept away. Their bodies began to disintegrate, clumps of muddy looking clay limbs dropping off and oozing across the ground.
‘NOW!’ Calypso roared.
A path opened up in the water and like Moses through the Red Sea she ran flat out with the water churning all around her, not daring to stop. Hearing a bird like shriek she glanced up and saw enormous bat like creatures with wicked looking talons, heading for them. Raising her cross bow on the run, unable to slow down or even stop she fired, praying she hit her target.
‘Danae!’ Davis grabbed his sister, hauling her to her feet as she breathed heavily.
The impact of hitting the tree had not only knocked the wind from her but torn her whip from her hand. They heard a yell and looked up to see Charles crashing to the ground a few feet from them. The wraith reared up and shrieked, heading for the twins as they split off, diving to the ground and rolling. Davis felt something hard dig into his back as he hit the ground. Reaching out, his fist wrapped around his sister’s weapon. Looking up he saw the Wraith stalking her.
‘Danae!’ he yelled.
She looked up, catching her whip as he tossed it to her. Standing slowly her eyes flashed. With her fist firmly wrapped around the handle the length of the whip unfurled and dropped to the ground, blazing into life with white light.
The Wraith shrieked again as she snapped the whip, leaving a sizzling trail branded across it. It shrieked and backed away as she struck again. Again and again she struck, the white light burning the Wraith, causing strips of it to tatter and curl, falling to the ground like burning brands from a fire. With one final and resounding crack it exploded in a shower of sparks.
Davis and Danae both rushed over to Charles and between them they helped him to his feet.
‘We need to keep moving,’ Danae breathed hearing a loud growl behind them. ‘MOVE!’
The three of them disappeared into the trees.
Dr Karen Wilson moved stealthily through the undergrowth, the black of her clothes blending into the woods, her face concealed by her ski mask. If anyone from Mercy had seen her they never would’ve believed that she was the softly spoken, impeccably dressed OB. Then again none of them had served with her, in fact none of them even knew of her covert military background, only her medical training. The Veritas had been very thorough in erasing that from her records when she’d been inserted into the hospital on a long term assignment.
She dropped into a half crouch, her eyes scanning her surroundings. She felt the shaman’s talisman at her throat throb and she held her breath. A strange looking, half arachnid, half reptile creature moved past her, not even acknowledging her. Hugely relieved that the talisman actually worked she stood and kept moving. Simon had decided to split them up so they could cover more ground. Stupid really as it would take at least two of them to carry Olivia West out of the woods and to the van, especially if they had to sedate her. The dead weight of a fully grown woman was bad enough but you add in a twin pregnancy at twenty seven weeks gestation and things started to get complicated.
Suddenly she heard sounds of running and labored breaths. Dropping down low behind a thick gnarled tree trunk, she watched as the Chief of Police and Theo Beckett ran past. Waiting until she was sure they were gone she shifted her weight, ready to start moving again when she felt the barrel of a gun press against her temple and the distinctive click of a hammer being cocked.
Slowly she swiveled around to see her assailant. Her eyes widened in surprise as she took in the familiar black clothing and matching ski mask.
‘Toss the tranq gun,’ Corinne’s voice was slightly muffled behind the knitted mouthpiece.
Karen’s fingers twitched on the handle.
‘Don’t even bother,’ Corinne replied slowly, ‘this one has real bullets.’
Karen tossed her gun, raising her hands as she slowly stood.
‘What the hell do you think you’re doing Corinne?’
Corinne reached out with her free hand tearing the mask from Karen’s face so she could see her more clearly.
‘You don’t think I know what you’re doing?’ her eyes narrowed, the only part of her face that was visible. ‘You think you mean something to Simon because you brought him Olivia?’
‘What the hell are you talking about?’
‘I know what you’re planning, both of you,’ she hissed, ‘and let me tell you, I have come too far up the ranks of the Veritas to be sidelined by some little soldier whore. I’ve killed for a lot less.’
‘Corrine you’ve got it wrong.’
‘Have I?’ she replied coolly, ‘so I didn’t overhear you planning on going to Franklin without me?’
‘Corinne,’ Karen replied, her eyes darting about in agitation, ‘you misunderstood.’
‘Too late,’ she reached out ripping the talisman from Karen’s neck.
‘NO!’ she started forward but Corinne laughed coldly as she stepped back.
Two shots rang out and Karen hit the ground, crying out in pain as she felt the bullets tear through the flesh and bone of her legs.
‘Enjoy hell,’ Corrine pulled up her mask and smiled. ‘I’ll give your best to Franklin.’
‘Corinne you bitch!’ Karen growled, dragging herself across the hard uneven ground, but Corinne was nowhere to be seen.
She could see her tranq gun lying on the ground not far from her position. She knew she didn’t have long. If the sound of the gunshots didn’t bring a dozen creatures heading her way, the scent of her blood soon would. She inched slowly along the ground; stretching painfully across the dirty leaves her fingertips nudged the gun. She tried again…it was almost within her grasp…when a thin line of drool hit her cheek.
Swallowing painfully, she turned her head very slo
wly, blinking at the emaciated face of a Hell hound. Its jaws crushed down on her skull, her screams echoing through the woods only to be cut off suddenly.
‘What the hell was that?’ Tommy’s gaze cut across to Jake as he breathed heavily, letting loose another two shots and sending some sort of winged gargoyle creature to the ground. As he ran it through with his blade it squealed and raked across the ground with vicious looking talons, churning up sod and decomposing leaves.
Jake staggered back, breathing heavily. A claw mark to his jaw bled profusely, he also had matching claw marks to his upper arm which had shredded his jacket and saturated the material with his blood. Tommy wasn’t in much better condition, a cut to his temple oozed blood and he had a deep gouge to his ribs.
‘Sounded human to me,’ Jake wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his jacket. ‘Come on, it could be Roni.’
They took off running in the direction of the scream. As they approached they could see a dark colored body on the ground and a Hell hound tearing into it, throwing it around like a rag doll.
With a furious cry Jake launched himself at the creature tackling it to the ground and piecing its chest cavity with his blade. It exploded beneath him, covering him with a grisly ash like soot. Jake scrambled over to the body; the back had been practically vivisected. The flesh and clothing was shredded exposing the spine and far worse things. Swallowing back the bile, Jake rolled her over and checked her pulse even knowing she was already gone.
‘Karen,’ Tommy gasped.
‘Who?’ Jake replied.
‘That’s Karen Wilson; she’s a friend of Louisa’s. She delivered Jace.’
‘She’s a doctor?’
Tommy nodded, ‘she’s also Olivia’s OB.’
‘Olivia?’ Jake repeated suspiciously. He picked up her wrist and peeled back her sleeve, revealing a small ankh with a serpent head looped at the top, branded into her skin. ‘Veritas,’ he hissed in disgust.
‘Jake,’ Tommy rose slowly, his voice calm and low. ‘We need to move now.’
Jake looked up to see they were surrounded by snarling Hell hounds. One of them suddenly broke away and launched itself towards them, but before they could even raise their weapons it exploded mid-air.
The Guardians Complete Series 1 Box Set: Contains Mercy, The Ferryman, Crossroads, Witchfinder, Infernum Page 194