Darklight 2: Darkthirst

by Forrest, Bella

  Then Colin yanked me aside as a bullet—the kind that would kill us humans—tore through the foliage to my right. Radio chatter and more gunfire spewed out into the night.

  We’d been spotted.

  “Down the hill,” I barked.

  We slid and stumbled through the trees, branches grasping at our arms and faces. Slithering and sliding, zigzagging to throw off our attackers’ aim, we made it to the bottom of the hill and scrambled left into the forest. Green beams pursued us into the trees, striking the wood and our bodies with harmless light, the sickly flashes of illumination making the whole scene even more disorienting.

  The trees here were more tightly knit, and we were forced to slow down or else risk losing an eye to one of the skewer-like pine branches. But we’d only eased our pace for mere moments when part of the tree next to me exploded into splinters as it was struck by a bullet. Bark and woodchips scattered, and the smell of scorched wood filled my nose. The offer of a peaceful surrender was well and truly off the table.

  “They know we’re humans,” I whispered to Roxy and Colin as we darted away from the scourged tree. “Spread out but stay close. Keep low. Use the trees for cover if you can. We know the terrain better than they do, so let’s split their forces and take them out one by one.”

  “Copy that. I’ve seen five so far,” Colin said, splitting off to the right.

  “I assume we’re just disarming and disabling?” Roxy asked, swinging around behind a thick aspen trunk beside me.

  “Disarm and disable,” I confirmed.

  “Copy that,” Roxy said and went left.

  I took several short, sharp breaths, then threw myself forward, running as fast as my aching legs would take me. Moving so quickly in the dark, I had very little concept of where I was in relation to the cave entrance, but I knew this was currently my best chance.

  Finley’s voice rippled through the forest as she shouted through a speaker. “Team Omega, move into position. There are still hostiles unaccounted for.”

  Although ominous, her shouted orders gave me a sense of direction, and I began to move in a wide arch back toward her voice, knowing she would still be near the aircraft in the open space. To my left and right, I saw the vague shapes of Roxy and Colin doing the same.

  Another bullet struck a tree beside me, and I heard the crackle of comms. Ducking low and making a sharp turn, I adjusted my course, pushing myself to keep running, my hands out in front of me to protect my face from the groping foliage. How much longer could I stay lucky?

  Somewhere up ahead, the cargo plane groaned as the hatch opened, a sound I recognized from the numerous times I had dropped out of them on missions. The trees shivered as an amplified wheezing carried on the breeze from the clearing. Behind me, I heard the soldiers pursuing us slow down. The wheezing, unsettling even from a distance, turned to a terrible bubbling shriek, followed by a series of discordant, thundering steps.

  “The clearing!” I shouted over the commotion. There was a chance my team could escape into the forest, but we couldn’t leave the others behind to fend for themselves.

  As one, Roxy, Colin, and I made a beeline toward the noise and light of the clearing, looping wide in the hope of avoiding our pursuers. Upon hearing my cry, however, the soldiers pinpointed our location and rushed to follow us.

  Two soldiers sprang out in front of Roxy and me, their tactical gear erasing all humanity from their shapes. I landed my fist in one of their stomachs, hearing the air explode outward. Tearing off their helmet, I slammed their face down into my knee to the crunch of cartilage. Grabbing them by the back of their neck, I used the weight of their body to crash their head against the trunk of a tree and felt consciousness leave them. Roxy followed suit with an expert kick to the other soldier’s knee, followed by punches to the throat and the temple.

  Breathing hard, we looked at each other, then at the two soldiers crumpled on the ground. Without a word, we began to rifle through the pockets and packs of soldiers who had once been our fellows. We still needed to travel light, but arming ourselves was top priority.

  As I was holstering the gun and slipping the electric baton into my belt loop, Colin stumbled out of the darkness.

  “There are more coming up on us fast,” he panted. “But I found friends.”

  “Hold your fire,” Zach said as he emerged from the darkness. “It’s us.”

  “Oh, we have four people now. Guess it’s easy-peasy from here,” Roxy said darkly.

  Gina slipped out from behind a tree in Zach’s wake, immediately stooping to pick up one of the soldier’s rifles. “Five.”

  “Incoming,” Colin blurted.

  Four soldiers emerged from the tangled trees and darted toward us. Colin attacked from the side, driving his heel into one soldier’s ribs and sending them tumbling into the soldier to their right. Roxy snatched up a fallen branch and, wielding it like a quarterstaff, jammed the end into the face of the soldier knocked off balance. They grunted, then yelped as she followed up her first attack with the electric baton. There was a crackle of power, a gurgle from the soldier, and then a thud as they dropped to the ground. Zach and Gina picked off the last two in several quick moves, Gina rendering both opponents unconscious with a sharp strike from the butt of her newly acquired rifle. Roxy slammed the end of her stick into the first soldier’s sternum as they attempted to rise. They collapsed back to the ground, coughing. Colin made sure they wouldn’t be getting up anytime soon by grabbing the soldier’s electric baton and striking them in the chest with it.

  Roxy twirled her new wooden weapon. “Maybe we have half a chance after all.”

  Although I’d had no chance to participate in the fight, I felt a rush of pride. We were still a hell of a good team despite everything we’d been through.

  Since the enemy soldiers were down, we had earned a moment’s respite to fill each other in. A hollow ache of grief bloomed in my chest. I had to tell them.

  “Finley shot Grayson,” I said. My voice wavered as I did. “She shot him right in the chest.” I took a deep breath. “They’re openly using lethal force now. It’s not just the vampires who are being hunted.”

  Zach closed his eyes. “We’ve got to tell Bryce,” he said grimly.

  I nodded and pressed a finger to my comm, breaking the radio silence. “Bryce, do you read me? Grayson is dead. Finley shot him.”

  The comm crackled to life. “Get back to the clearing!” Bryce shouted over the line. “We need backup! Now!”

  Arming ourselves further with guns from the soldiers and tossing the dark energy laser guns as deep into the forest as we could, we ran uphill toward the clearing, the wind striking us in the face.

  In the clearing, the situation was dire.

  Fifteen more soldiers wearing full tactical gear and bright headlamps poured out of the cargo carrier. One more sat atop a strange harness affixed to the most terrifying creature I’d ever seen in my life.

  It was probably thirty feet long or more, sinuous, with rolls of sickly yellow flesh. Six clawed legs, jointed like a cricket’s, scuttled on the ground, its gnarled limbs making an eerie creaking sound. Three sets of leathery wings jutted from its back at the shoulders, middle, and lower back but were chained together.

  Skidding to a halt at the tree line, I gaped in horror.

  “What the hell is that thing?” Zach breathed beside me. Our team gathered at the edge of the trees, using them for cover.

  A monster from the Immortal Plane. There was no doubt about it. No wonder Rhome had been so terrified when Kreya announced she was going back there with their children.

  I gasped as I spotted its head. It was bony and lizard-like, but a swollen gullet puffed out below its spiked skull. With a sudden movement, the gullet shook, and the creature released a stream of putrid yellow gunk from its mouth into the air. The monster took a step and swung its mighty tail through the air before smashing it to the ground. The club of bone at the end left a small crater in the dirt.

  The sold
ier riding it pulled on the harness that covered the ugly head like a muzzle, then pressed a larger version of the electric batons into the monster’s side. Blue sparks buzzed to life as the baton made contact with the scaly skin. It gave a burbling wail of pain, its lumbering form turning awkwardly toward where our little party crouched.

  Watching it move, I took stock of our chances. Its size meant it likely wasn’t fast. The Bureau’s restraints on it were another plus, but would they hold for long? Peering out intently, I could see its eyes were narrow, meaning it might react more to sound than to visual threats, although that also meant it likely wouldn’t be hindered by the lack of light. It would probably sniff us out or hear us. Our advantages were slight, but they were all we had at the moment.

  It was then that I spotted two figures weaving erratically in front of the monster. Bryce and Louise, with her swinging red headlamp, were running for their lives as the horrific creature stomped toward them, the handler steering it to give chase. The fifteen soldiers spread out, flanking my former captain and teammate, moving in fast. A few suddenly turned their heads toward us. Had they seen our movement among the trees?

  “We need to take out the handler,” Zach muttered, echoing my thoughts.

  “We could snipe them from here,” I suggested. I eyed the stolen rifle on Roxy’s back, wondering if I would have to wrestle it away from her. We were all good shots, but Colin was the best.

  “The helicopter is another priority,” Gina said. “We’ve got to neutralize their exit strategy, and they might have more weapons on board.”

  Moving between us all, Roxy released the ammo from the other three of our collected rifles, then grabbed the rifle off her back and shoved it at Colin, followed by the three extra magazines. “We’ve got no additional ammo,” she said, scowling, “so every bullet matters. You take it. You make them count.”

  “Me?” Colin asked, startled.

  “You’re the best shot,” Roxy said without hesitation. “Don’t waste your shots.”

  I spared a moment to reevaluate Roxy. I’d thought she was a glory-hound, but if she had been, she’d have fired until her own gun was empty, wasting the bullets. I’d questioned why, of my entire team, she was the one promoted to lead in my absence when she was so argumentative with Bryce in training. Now I saw why.

  “You guys head for the chopper,” I told Gina and Zach. “Roxy and I will stay with Colin.”

  Sending two people to take down an entire helicopter might have made most people nervous, but I had faith. Gina and Zach worked well together. I felt confident in sending our resident power couple into danger… even toward a guarded aircraft. As Gina and Zach made a break for the helicopter, the soldiers looked in our direction, alerted by the movement.

  “We’ll cover you,” I assured Colin and took a position on his other side, mirroring Roxy. We fired pistols at the soldiers, trying to conserve our ammunition as they attempted to return fire.

  Colin took his time lining up his shot. He missed the handler but smoothly corrected himself without pause. He missed again and made a smaller correction. The monster screeched and flung back its head, startled by the sound and movement. Colin swore mildly when he lost his target and started over. I nervously gauged the rapidly closing distance between the oncoming creature and us. I saw the flash of Louise’s headlamp somewhere by its legs and heard the sounds of shots going wild into the night.

  Finally, after painful seconds of adjustment and reaching complete stillness, Colin landed the shot. There was a hiss as the bullet cut through the air, then the soldier jerked once and tumbled off the monster onto the ground.

  Now free of its rider, the monster reared with newfound energy, frenzied by the gunfire. It shook itself, the chains crashing together with a metallic clatter. Its jaws snapped viciously inside the harness, the fastenings snapping one by one with sharp pings. The sound sent an icy sensation of dread through me. Whatever this thing was, the Bureau was not fully in control of it.

  The soldiers on the ground shouted terrified orders. The monster pressed its wings against the chains again. The soldiers dissolved into a flurry of activity. They brought out the electric batons and struck at the creature from three sides, trying to turn it back toward containment in the helicopter. Seven made it close to the monster, some landing brief blows on its skin.

  They’d never take it down like this.

  With a wild roar, the monster reeled on the soldiers, lashing out with several of its spiny, clawed legs and sending its clubbed tail into the line of attackers. Their bodies soared through the air like confetti. From the force of the blows and the sound of their landings, I knew some would never get up again.

  The monster snapped forward, aiming straight for Louise and Bryce. It slithered after Louise with an ear-shattering shriek behind its mangled muzzle. My muscles tensed, begging me to intervene.

  I can’t let another friend die tonight.

  Six of the remaining soldiers turned their attention to our trio, running toward us with batons and guns drawn, their headlamps slicing the darkness that was our cover.

  I gritted my teeth with a rush of adrenaline, releasing the empty magazine from my pistol and wrapping my hand around the warm barrel, wielding it as a blunt instrument. I was more concerned about the monster, but we had to deal with the humans first.

  “We need to break through to reinforce Bryce and Louise,” I told Roxy and Colin. “Get ready to advance and engage.”

  As one, we broke from cover and charged forward. I used the butt of my gun to slam a soldier’s weapon out of their hand. One soldier took a swipe at my face. Roxy decked them, bringing up her trusty quarterstaff to knock the soldier to the ground.

  For a few moments, there was no room to think, only react. We had one soldier down, but the other five were refusing to be so cooperative. I slammed my elbow into one as they tried to grab me from the side. This Bureau armor was heavier than anything I had ever been given for a mission and was annoyingly tough. My elbow throbbed from the blow I’d just landed, but it had barely winded my opponent.

  I spun on my heel, dodging the grab of another soldier before coming face-to-face with another who had a gun trained on me. I tensed instinctively but then noticed they glanced between the gun and the monster. Were they more concerned about avoiding its wrath than following orders?

  Across the clearing, the chopper roared to life. The monster gave another shriek, whipping its head and tail back and forth in response to the irritating sound. Another soldier screamed as they were sent flying through the air. I took advantage of my opponent’s distraction to unhook the electric baton from my belt and push it into the soft flesh of their neck in the gap between helmet and breastplate.

  “We’re in!” Zach shouted in my comm.

  My heart leapt, and I stepped over the body. Good news for once.

  The helicopter took off jerkily and hovered over the battle, wobbling as it lowered. It then rocked to one side, and a sudden spray of bullets poured down. The gunfire pelted the battleground, narrowly missing my group.

  “Zach!” I yelled into my comm. “That was too close.”

  “Blame Gina’s flying,” he replied in a hiss of static.

  The nearby Bureau soldiers dispersed in the hail of bullets, running to dodge the fire. Two soldiers from the front of the group managed to miss the fray and charged us.

  Colin hissed sharply as a soldier slammed their fist into the side of his head. I returned the favor by delivering a roundhouse kick to the soldier, who crumpled to the ground. Colin stumbled, grasping his head tightly and clutching his stomach with his other arm. Roxy punched the other soldier, throwing them onto their back.

  “Get out of the way!” I yelled at Collin. “We need to get clear to let Zach and Gina go to work.”

  “To the forest,” Roxy said at almost the same time.

  “If you can, some help to get us out of the way would be appreciated,” Bryce barked over comms. “And you be careful with that death machine, t
he two of you.”

  “Try shooting at the creature to get it to move away from us,” I said into the comm as Zach gunned a bit too close to our side of the clearing again. “We’re going into the fray.”

  “Look out for Louise’s red headlamp,” Bryce said gruffly. “Don’t shoot us in the heat of things. We have enough trouble with this beast.”

  Roxy and I dashed toward the monster while Colin grabbed another rifle and retreated to snipe from the edges.

  Sure enough, Louise’s red light still swung ahead of the wailing horror, the headlamp weaving back and forth in the gloom as she dodged around and between the stamping legs and assaulting soldiers. She was wilier than she looked with her sweet face. I couldn’t see Bryce, but he would be nearby.

  Zach focused his fire on the edge of the trees, avoiding the spot Colin was firing from. With the onboard machine gun, he successfully pinned nearly a dozen of the soldiers in the forest. Gina guided the helicopter close to the tree line, making it impossible for anyone to escape.

  The remaining stragglers on the field had their own struggles. They fired on the monster as it continued to wildly swing its mighty tail and powerful claws.

  I dropped down to pick up guns from the fallen soldiers, ignoring the smell of their crushed and broken bodies spreading over the field. Roxy strapped two guns to her chest, abandoning her quarterstaff. I threw her several spare magazines of ammunition from the soldier I was closest to. She nodded in acknowledgement.

  We took off after the creature. Running through the path of destruction it had left behind, I retched, trying not to vomit. The stench of decay was overpowering.

  “What is that?” Roxy demanded.

  I studied the edges of the destroyed trees and ground as we ran. The forest wasn’t just splintering… it was decomposing. The trees and plants and rocks were now melted into a dank sludge. What kind of evil from the Immortal Plane had the Bureau unleashed here?

  Rotting vegetation and rancid meat burned my nostrils. Roxy gagged beside me as we ground to a halt. The creature was a short distance ahead but distracted by dwindling numbers of Bureau soldiers. We shared a sharp look. My eyebrows rose expectantly.