“Maybe they’re hiding,” Samantha wondered. She had an adventure here as well, but she never had a knife to her throat.
“No,” Connor sniffed at the air, “If they were here, you would be able to smell them.” He said. “And, you wouldn’t even need to be shifted for that.”
“Well, what’s the plan?” she asked.
Tess gulped down the lump in her throat to join the conversation.
“Crunch said there were caves around the cabins. I think I remember seeing a few guys walking up behind the larger cabin with some of those crates when I was being brought in as a prisoner,” Tess said.
Connor reached out to Tess, embracing her. She was holding up well, for what it was worth.
“That’s my girl,” he said. She struggled for a smile up at him, but the tears in her eyes betrayed her attempt at confidence. “If you want to stay here and guard the truck, it’s fine. You don’t have to go any further than this.”
“No,” she said, adamantly, “Stop treating me like I’m helpless. I might be scared but I’m going to help. My brother might be here.” She scanned the forest and the road. “Besides, there might not be anyone here anyway.”
Connor pulled Tess close to his chest in apology. Tess was right, and they needed all the help they could get. He shot Samantha a weary look. It was possible to hope for the best, but Connor was used to planning for the worst. Occasionally, what you plan for wouldn’t turn out to be the worst of it, either.
“Sam,” Connor said, “Can you keep her company? I’m going to scout ahead.”
Samantha nodded so Connor released Tess into her care. At least they would be together if someone were to show. He would have taken them with him, but going it alone would allow him opportunities he otherwise wouldn’t have.
He tore off his shirt while the girls watched. Tess tilted her head. Samantha did the same.
“I’m not here to give you girls a show,” he replied.
“Then why are you giving us one?” Tess asked, biting her lip.
Connor grunted and continued to undress. He kicked off his boots, but paused before taking off his jeans. Samantha was lifting her head up to get a better view. Feeling embarrassed, Connor turned around before removing his last article of clothing.
Stupid girls.
The scar on his leg stung terribly, but it was nowhere near as bad as it was. The stitches had already been pulled out so there was no way it would come apart now. He called out to his wolf and it obeyed. His vision shimmered as it took over. Cracking bones, snapping muscles, and tearing at his raw sinew. They ripped and reorganized beneath his skin. Fur sprouted from every pore, his hands shrunk and fused into paws with tough nails. His mouth jutted forward to become his muzzle.
He stalked into the now familiar wood. He’d passed through this way just under a week ago, so the knowledge was still fresh in his memory. The thick underbrush snagged on his fur causing his progress to be slow, but he needed to be slow.
His senses were telling him that there were strangers about, humans. The only way for a human to beat any kind of shifter was with silver. The smell of sulfur from gunpowder was overpowering. They must have been sitting on more ammunition than they knew what to do with. This could be bad.
He paused when he heard footsteps through the wood. If it was a guard, he would have to deal with it quickly. He got low, ducking behind a bush as the leather vested biker came into view. The insignia on the vest was the exact same one on Samantha’s jacket, the jacket Alex had given her. He had a rifle slung low over his shoulder. Still, as a human he was weak, but if that rifle had silver bullets there would be no contest, Connor would lose. He couldn’t risk a head on fight.
As the biker past, Connor leapt from the woods. His large, powerful alpha body easily knocked the man clean out. With his jaws he bent the tip of the barrel so it couldn’t be used to harm anyone else.
That solved one question, was the base abandoned? Surely not. If there is one guard, there are bound to be more. He decided to be even more cautious than before.
As he pushed his way through the dense forest, he emerged by the lake. The water was choppy from the light wind that was nipping at Connor’s fur. The cabins that dotted the hillside before were burnt to a crisp. The large cabin that stood proud in the middle of the grassy hill was licked with cinders but still usable. Maybe they were still staying there?
A row of motorcycles stood against the side of the single road that led into the camp. Connor counted eight in total. Considering he’d already knocked out one of the guys, if the rest were single riders then there was a chance he only had 7 more to deal with.
He edged through the forest, around the lake and toward the outer rim of the camp. He sniffed again at the air. Two more guards were close. He could hear their voices on the wind. Their terrible body odor didn’t help either. When he found them, he almost wanted to roll his eyes at how stupid they were. They were just sitting on the sand near the lake, chatting about women.
Connor probably would have just walked right past them if he were alone, but considering Samantha and Tess were just a way up the lane, he didn’t want to take chances. He pounced, landing a paw on each of them. Their faces smashed into the sand and they fell unconscious.
If the rest of the guards were as tough as these two then Connor didn’t think he had much to worry about.
“Hey!” a voice carried on the wind, “We got a wolf!”
Shit.
Connor searched around the camp. He’d missed one of the guards lying on the opposite side of the row of motorcycles.
Not a time to be careless. Shit!
There was no time for caution now. There were a couple other voices making noise across camp. They’d spotted him for sure. Just deal with the first problem; that was the only thing on his mind. Connor pounced on the nearest biker as he was reaching for his rifle. His head hit the cement, knocking him out like a lightbulb.
The other two across camp were just shouldering their weapons. Connor ducked a shot from behind the bikes. It pinged into a nearby gas tank. The pungent odor of gasoline stifled his sense of smell. It didn’t matter though, he already had his targets.
More shots fired out blindly in his direction. He sprinted hard past the line of bikes and took cover behind a burned out cabin. Their footsteps came closer to flush him out, but he wasn’t going to wait. Their shadows betrayed them in the afternoon sun. Once the first was close, Connor whirled out of cover, ripping into the biker’s leg. He screamed in agony as he shot his rifle into the air. Once he was on his back, Connor planted a massive paw in his face, knocking him out.
The last of the bikers proved to be smarter than the rest. He knelt down behind a half burned out wall with his gun trained toward Connor. He wouldn’t be able to make it back behind cover before the gunshot would get him. Since there was no chance for cover, he tried for the shooter. He dashed as fast as his legs would allow, trying to close the gap.
Another shot rang out, whizzing just past his ear. He watched the barrel closely, doing his best to stay out of its way.
That one was so close it bit at his fur as it passed. Then from nowhere, a bear reached out and smashed the shooter upside the head. Blood flew from his nose as he landed lifelessly on the ground.
The bear roared and as it did, it shrunk. Its fur receded as the mountain of a creature turned into a lanky girl who stood over the gunman, laughing with her hands on her hips.
“Serves you right,” Samantha said, “you got what you deserve.”
She didn’t even realize she was still naked. Her slender body was different than Tess’, but since Connor only had eyes for his woman, he put his paw over his face to avoid looking.
“Oh grow up. They’re just boobs,” she said, “I’ve seen enough of you to be able to draw your dick blindfolded.”
He slumped down on his haunches. Tess joined the pair with a bundle of clothes in her arms.
“Is that all of them?” she asked.
“
I think so,” Samantha replied.
The sound of screams caused Connor’s ears to perk up. It was close, very close. It must not have been loud enough for the girls to hear it. Connor walked toward the sound. He would have tried sniffing it out but the gasoline made tracking by scent impossible, at least for now.
Samantha pulled on her leather jacket and zipped it to the top while she followed. It covered her just to the top of her thighs, which must have been enough for her. Tess still carried the bundle of clothing.
“What did you find?” Tess asked, “Is it Alex?”
It did sound familiar. It might have been. It didn’t hurt to find out. Even if it wasn’t Alex, whoever it was, they could use the help.
Connor found a walking path that lead past the high cabin. It was a thin line of upturned dirt that led from the cabin, up over the hill. He followed it, hoping it would lead to the sound. Low lying brush tried to cover the tracks.
“So, you’re awake again, I see,” Connor heard. It was slight. He paused to listen. The voice wasn’t anything he’d heard before, but it was gruff like sandpaper.
“I’ve been waitin’ for this day for a while. Cost me quite a pretty penny to get your ass right here,” the voice continued. Connor perked up his ears. It echoed around the forest making tracking incredibly difficult. He weaved around the forest to search for the source of the voice.
“That night you fucked up the bar and snapped my arm, I lost a lot of respect. Cost me almost half my gang. Poof, they just up and left me,” the voice was growing louder. He was going in the right direction.
“But, I got a reward for the boys that stuck around. That cute little girlie of yours Cynthia is going to be a nice piece of meat for a while.”
Cynthia? That was definitely Alex. Connor felt his sense of smell starting to come back. Alex’s scent wafted lightly on the wind. Connor’s head rolled back and forth to find the source. There. That way. He dashed off in the direction of that he knew he’d find Alex.
“Too bad about all them shifters in that … what do you call it? A den? Heh, stupid. I loved watching all those freaks get blown to shreds. And, now I get to take my sweet time with you. Your last hour is going to look like a paradise compared to what I’m goin’ to do with you.” Another cry of pain echoed out, it was definitely Alex.
In the distance, through a brush clearing, Connor could just barely make out what might be a door. The sloshing of footsteps followed close behind him. Samantha and Tess were coming along.
Connor wished that at least Tess weren’t here. If this was her brother, there was no doubt he’d be in bad shape.
“I can’t wait to kill off the remainder of you stupid disgusting wolves. Cause after that, we’re goin’ to finish off the bears. Then I won’t have to-”
Connor smashed through the door with his full weight behind it. The door shattered to splinters, bringing light into the darkened space. It was a natural cave. The hinges to the door were spiked into the wall with pitons. Inside the space was Alex. His hands and legs were bound tight with thick rope. A large hook was looped around his hand bindings, suspending him from the ground. Blood covered his shirt; bruises from continual beatings ran along every inch of skin that wasn’t cut or bleeding.
“What the hell?” Mutt said.
Connor recognized Mutt. He was the moron who ran a motorcycle gang that was interrupted by Alex. He wanted revenge so bad he’d turned to the one man that could get results, Eli. He sold his soul to the devil for the chance to take a stab at Alex. From the looks of it, he got more than one stab in.
Beside Alex were crates piled high against the back wall, each one covered in a camo net. One of the crates was open and several rifles were missing from inside. Wooden ammo boxes were piled against the entrance of the cave. Getting rid of everything in this one room would be a serious blow to the hunter.
“What the hell?” Mutt asked, holding a silver knife over Alex. “Eli and Torque said they was huntin’ for you. You’re not supposed to be here.”
It might have been easier to deal with Mutt as a wolf, but he wanted to use his hands for this one. Connor urged his humanity to return. A surge of adrenaline found its way down his back as he stood on his hind legs. As he did, they quickly returned to his thick human legs. The fur withdrew into his skin, his muzzle snapped back into his human mouth, and he cracked his neck as he rose to his full height.
“Damn,” Connor said, he turned to Tess and Samantha who were just getting to the small cave. “Our friend Mutt here just told me that Torque and Eli were out hunting for us.”
“You goddamn freak!” Mutt shouted. He lunged at Connor with the knife. Connor smirked at the biker’s frenzied strike, easily sidestepping the blade. He caught Mutt’s only good arm, twisting it back on itself. Mutt dropped the knife as Connor threw him to the ground. The sound of bone shattering resonated through the tiny space. Mutt screamed out in agony.
“You damn dogs. I swear when my arms are healed I’m goin’ to find every last one of you and kill you all!”
Connor held up the knife to Samantha. She took it and freed Alex from his bondage. While the wounds in his side were closing, it was clear that the silver in his system was slowing everything down. He slumped over Samantha’s back.
“Thank you,” he said, “I owe you.”
“Naw,” Samantha replied with a smile, “This just makes us even.”
Alex tousled her already messy hair with a bloodied hand.
“Cynthia,” Alex breathed, “we need to find Cynthia.”
“I was just finding that out,” Connor said. He lifted Mutt’s head from the dirt. “So, do you want to talk? Or should I just keep asking until you run out of fingers?” Connor wrapped his hand around Mutt’s pinky.
“I’ll talk, I’ll talk,” Mutt shouted.
“Too slow,” Connor cracked his finger backward. Mutt was already crying from the pain.
“They’re around the hillside. To the north, around the lake. There’s a larger cave over there. Big enough to keep all you little bastards in check.” Connor cracked his ring finger. Another howl escaped Mutt.
“For a badass, you’re pretty weak,” Samantha scoffed. She helped Alex from the cave. He didn’t need to see this. Tess turned away as well. Connor was glad she did. She didn’t deserve to see what he was planning to do next.
Connor lifted Mutt to his feet. With both arms broken, there wasn’t much he was capable of. But, with what Mutt had done to his family, he deserved worse than two broken arms. If he was any other biker, Connor might have let him go. However, this idiot not only brought the wrath of Eli down on all the shifters, but he tortured Tess’s brother.
“You should’ve just let it go,” Connor said as he lifted Mutt from his knees. “You were lucky before to just get off with a broken arm. But, you killed my people. You captured our women. You tortured my future brother in law, and you tried to kill me. I can’t let you walk out of here.”
Mutt’s face went from sobbing to downright hysterical. With his free hand, Connor grabbed at a hanging piece of rope tearing it down. He wrapped it around Mutt’s body, locking his broken arms to his body. With a toss, he let go of Mutt and watched as he landed on the crates with a groan.
With a kick, Connor knocked Mutt out cold, breaking his jaw. It was unlikely Mutt would survive, he’d wake up and starve to death. A slow and painful death is what he deserved. If he did manage to escape, Connor knew by the look in mutt’s eyes that there would be no way he’d come after them again.
Connor walked out the battered front door, stepping over loose splinters and fallen rock. Tess handed him his clothing when he joined her a ways from the door.
“It’s done,” he said. He pulled on his pants and tugged on his shirt. The rest of the prisoners needed to be found and rescued. At least the Cliff Walker den had found some solace. Now, Connor searched for his.
CHAPTER 7
“It’s going to be okay,” Cynthia said, trying her best to reassure the rest of t
he girls. She’d been taken hostage before; it was becoming a tiring habit. This time, however, she was playing mother to a series of children with only a couple adults to help.
When Eli assaulted the Cliff Walker den, along with that bastard Mutt, Cynthia had managed to gather as many of the children as she could to keep them safe. Trying to escape out of the back of the den led them straight into Eli’s trap. The truck that carried them here still sat just outside.
“Shut it,” said one of the guards, “No talking.”
They were both human. They would have been easy targets but the cage they were in made attack almost impossible. It also didn’t help that they had rifles loaded with silver bullets. She could have taken one, but then she would have died trying to attack the other. They were stuffed into a large cave. The face opened toward the forest. Cynthia could see the lush forest, along with more guards waiting for them just outside.
They had been driven on a road that she didn’t remember seeing the last time she was here. She could smell the salt from the lake and the ash from the burned down cabins. Their pungent aroma assaulted her nostrils the moment they parked.
Inside the cage with them were boxes of goods stacked high. They seemed important, so she decided to investigate. One box was already open, and full of bags of white powder. She’d seen enough movies to know what this probably was, cocaine. Torque must have been dealing on the side to make enough money for all his rifles and silver bullets.
There was a slight gap in the bars. Perhaps if she shifted she could push her way out and go for help. But, who was nearby to save her? Nobody. The only people here to help were just old enough not to wet their pants.
“What is that?” one woman asked. She was elderly. Gloria, if she had to guess. Her skin hung from her bones, but she had a sweet demeanor that kept the children docile.
“Cocaine,” Cynthia said, “These bastards are probably running drugs to make extra cash. No wonder they have a truck that big.”
The Dragon's Charm (Elemental Dragons Book 4) Page 94