by Tara Ellis
He stared at the Glock. Why was he holding it?
“Jason!”
The fear in Peta’s voice got through to him, and he took a sharp intake of air. It was warm, and perfumed from the exotic plants of the jungle. The Amazon. They were in the Amazon of Suriname, trying to get to the Tan Presi Rutu, the ancient village of the Lokono.
“Jess,” he whispered, looking around. “Where is she?”
Crack!
Jason flinched away from Peta and the confusing sounds. She was shooting at something.
The cats. We have to stop the jaguars.
His own thoughts were becoming hazy, and Jason couldn’t remember if they were supposed to stop the jaguars from getting into the barn at the preserve, or something—
“Jason, stay with me!” Peta hissed, shaking him hard.
The pain. The pain in his head was overwhelming everything else.
“Is that you, Dr. Kelly?” a man called out, in an almost sing-song voice.
Davies. The Cured.
Jason shook his head and dug deep into a part of himself he had sworn he’d never see again. A moan slid from between his lips and his right hand formed a fist.
Jess. He had to fight for Jess.
Baring his teeth like a snarling dog, Jason pushed into the log to steady himself and focused on the gun—then, on his adversaries. The creatures and people who wanted to harm his daughter and prevent all of them from saving the last remnants of humanity.
With what little remained of his strength, Jason fell against Peta and started pulling the trigger.
Chapter 4
JESS
Suriname, South America
Deep in the Amazon
“Come on, Marty!” Jess was forced to release the dog’s collar so she wouldn’t fall. Having grown up in the jungle she was as sure-footed as any Lokono, but running through unmarked terrain in the dark was a challenge.
Tyler stumbled into her and she grabbed at his arm, trying to steady him. A branch caught her in the jaw at the same time, and with a grunt she fell to the ground, taking Tyler with her.
Marty barked, alerting the rest of their party that something was wrong, and as Jess scrambled onto her knees, she saw that Devon was jogging back to them. “You okay?” He held out a hand but she was already back on her feet.
“We can’t see anything!” Jess whispered. Grabbing at a flashlight clipped to the strap of her pack, she turned it on. “I think now is a good time to use these.”
Tyler rubbed at his elbow and then nodded in agreement while pulling at his own light. “I second that.”
Devon turned away and led the way back to Akuba and Slaider. “They’ve got a point,” he said when Slaider scowled at them. “I think we’re way past there being any benefit in trying to stay hidden.”
“We need to keep moving,” Akuba urged, locking eyes with Jess.
She’d never seen the other woman so scared, and Jess hardly recognized her as they stood there in the small clearing, facing each other. She imagined she had a similar wild expression, created by the knowledge that the stakes involved were much greater than their own lives.
“It’s this way,” Slaider said, pointing into the darkness ahead of them. “I’m certain now as to where we are. If we—”
Gunfire erupted from where they’d just fled, and Jess spun around as they all ducked instinctively. They hadn’t gone very far and she was torn between wanting to run away, and going back to help.
“They’ll be okay,” Tyler said as he pushed her forward. “Peta’s tough, and Jason knows what he’s doing. You should’ve seen all the ninja special-ops stuff he did on our way here.”
“He’s sick,” Jess countered, thinking about the man who’d traveled thousands of miles to find her, when he didn’t even know if she was alive. Whether Jason was her biological father or not wasn’t what compelled her to go back, but that he’d already risked his life for her several times, and didn’t deserve to be left there to die like that. She’d already lost so much to The Kuru and Kra Puru, and it infuriated Jess that no matter what they did, it continued to come for them.
The shots echoed around them, disorienting Jess as to what direction it was really coming from. The blinding effect of the flashlight made it worse, and so she snapped hers off, allowing her eyes to adjust and trusting her other senses.
A heavy silence followed, and the five of them froze, hesitating as it stretched out, somehow more ominous than the shooting. Tyler also turned off his light, which added to the blanket effect of the night which was now suddenly more of a comfort than only seconds before. It at least offered some means of camouflage and safety, though it was a false sense of security.
“We’ll go back after we find the village,” Devon urged as he and Slaider began walking again with Akuba, though at a safer pace. “We’ll get help and go back for them.”
Jess swallowed around the rising knot in her throat. It would have been better if Devon had made some smart comment, like he normally did. She didn’t like it when he was serious. She clung to the belief that he was right, though. That they’d get to the Tan Presi Rutu and Akuba would convince the indigenous people of her tribe to help them. They had to. There was no other option.
Jess thought of the Lokono she’d grown up with, and how she’d shared in so many aspects of their culture. She treasured the Libi Nati waters as much or even more than most of the villagers, and Jess was counting on that to give her a voice with them. If they saw how she was immune the same as they were, and that it wasn’t based on favoritism by their god, but something else, they might see how the legacy of their people wasn’t only to protect themselves from the Kra Puru, but everyone.
They couldn’t go back to the way things were. She could never go back. When the Libi Nati erupted, it changed everything with it. Jess had felt it right away, had known instinctively that things would never be the same. But it wasn’t until that moment in the jungle that she came to accept it.
Rushing forward, she took Slaider’s place alongside Akuba. “Lead us,” she said to him as he stepped away and allowed her to take Akuba’s arm. “Take us there.”
With a silent nod, the indigenous man took several steps forward while studying the ground. Jess knew he was seeing things amongst the vines and leaves that she could not – landmarks or faint signs of a trail.
A second volley of shots followed them, spurring them on, and Jess tried not to imagine what the sounds meant. At least they were still fighting.
Slaider had stopped and raised a hand for them to do the same.
“Are you lost?” Devon asked, clearly growing more impatient and agitated. He was bearing most of Akuba’s weight, so that Jess was offering little support.
Slaider didn’t respond, and instead moved his raised hand to point somewhere off to their left. Jess strained to see, but couldn’t make out anything.
Tyler moved up next to her. “Why are we stopping?” he whispered. “I think those gunshots are coming our way, so we should keep going if…” His voice trailed off as he saw Slaider, and he raised his AR in the general direction the man was still gesturing to.
Marty moved in an agitated circle around them as the whining turned into a growl deep in his throat. The hairs on his back were raised and Jess had never seen the dog so agitated. Her eyes flitted back to the foliage again, and she slowly released Akuba’s arm while reaching for the rifle slung over her other shoulder.
“Ah, man,” Devon groaned as he went through the same motions, except he chose to go for his handgun. Moving his arms in a wide arc, he failed to find a target. “What are we looking at here, guys? Because I am really not enjoying this. I might have to insist on a refund when this whole safari is over.”
“It’s like they were waiting for us,” Slaider said, backing toward them with his own rifle in his hands. “That is the trail, right there.” He used the weapon to point at where he’d been studying the jungle floor. “The Lokono use it to come to the river.”
“When you say they—” Devon broke off and Jess heard the rush of air as he sucked in a startled breath.
Marty froze and barked once, making her jump. Following where both the dog and Devon were looking, Jess finally saw something shift. Just the vague movement was enough to reveal that somehow, the cats had gotten ahead of them.
“What’re we going to do?” Tyler whispered. “Shoot our way through them?”
“We have no idea how many there are,” Jess whispered back. She was feeling vulnerable with the bolt-action rifle. She’d seen how the cats could move. They were fast, too fast for her to get off more than two shots before they’d be on her. She reached for the Glock in the waist of her jeans. There were only ten bullets left in the clip, but she’d probably be better off with it.
Before she’d completed the motion, there was a cracking of branches from directly overhead. Leaves rained down on them, and Marty started barking vigorously.
Devon threw his arm out in front of Akuba and Jess, forcing them all backward just as a large jaguar leapt to the ground in front of them. Slaider was almost directly under it, and he fell sideways with a cry of alarm.
Tyler was the first to get a shot off, but in the dark, hitting the moving target wasn’t a sure thing even at close range. The animal skidded sideways as it was lunging toward them, and as the percussion rang in Jess’s ears, it went down with a thud, landing on all fours less than three feet away.
Jess was the next to react, and her shot found its mark. The jaguar flinched before rolling over onto its side, unmoving. Marty rushed forward, dodging at the animal as he circled it.
“There’s more!” Slaider shouted.
He was right. Instead of scaring them away, the shots seemed to encourage the other cats to advance. It was impossible to tell for sure how many there were. The sounds came from all around, and as their eyes slowly gave away their location, there were too many to count.
Jess pressed at her forehead with her free hand, shoving her bangs away while she tried to think clearly. Adrenaline surged through her body, forcing her heart to race and her breaths to shorten, so that her brain was robbed of oxygen and demanded that she react blindly. To either run away or lunge forward. To react.
“Teki pasi!” Akuba wailed, her voice raw from both fright and emotion. “Gue, didibri! Go away, devils!”
Several cats emerged onto what Slaider had called the trail, as the others moved in from either side. They had nowhere to go but back the way they’d come.
Jess struggled with the belief that the jaguars were intentionally herding them toward the others waiting at the river. That it was a coordinated effort, something the animals weren’t possibly capable of. But, as Jess had recently accepted, things weren’t what they used to be.
“There’s too many,” Tyler said as he pulled at Jess.
She yanked her arm away. “We can’t go back! It’s what they want.”
“What they want?” Devon repeated, shaking his head. “Animals don’t hunt this way.”
“No, they don’t,” Akuba agreed. “But Jess is right.” Her voice was strained, and Jess could tell how much pain she was in. “We have to find a way. We have to get to the Tan Presi Rutu!”
Tyler moved forward, ahead of Slaider, and raised the automatic rifle. “So, we go through them.”
Before he could shoot, Marty began barking again, sidetracking the teen. As Tyler turned to look, the dog spun on his heels and took off for the trees to their right before Jess could stop him.
“Marty!” Jess screamed, and Akuba grabbed at her arms to hold her back as she tried to follow him. But it was already too late, and he disappeared into the darkness.
To Jess’s horror, the lead cat only hesitated briefly before turning in pursuit of the dog, a more natural prey to the wild animal. The other predators quickly fell in behind it, and the chase was on.
Chapter 5
TYLER
Suriname, South America
Deep in the Amazon, near the Tan Presi Rutu
Tyler cursed and spun back to face the trail. Of all the times for Marty to decide to be a hero.
Squinting, he looked down the sights while fighting against the urge to go after the dog. Marty was smart, he’d be okay. And it was giving them an opportunity they couldn’t let slip by.
“Let’s move!” Tyler barked, edging cautiously forward when he failed to come up with an immediate target.
“They’re still here,” Slaider said as he came alongside him. Tyler noticed he was limping and saw what appeared to be blood on the leg of the other man’s jeans. Slaider caught him looking and grimaced in response. “Now that they’ve drawn blood, it’ll make them more aggressive. Whatever’s been holding them back in order to make this hunt more efficient isn’t going to last much longer.”
“I personally love the suspense,” Devon jeered.
Tyler’s senses were in overdrive, and his nostrils flared as he picked up on the odor of rotting flesh. He tried not to imagine it as the fetid breath of the large cats pacing them, but he couldn’t get the imagery out of his head.
It was too quiet, and each step he took marked their presence as it was impossible to avoid the thick carpet of deadfall and debris that littered the jungle floor. Sweat had already soaked through his shirt, and although it was the middle of the night, the heat was similar to a sauna. Everything combined with the uncanny silence made him feel like they were trapped under a glass dome, locked inside with the top predators of the Amazon and there was no way out.
They hadn’t gone more than fifty feet when another cat moved languidly out onto the trail. Its lips curled back, revealing large fangs that glowed white in the dim light offered by the setting moon. As it opened its mouth, a low rumbling grew to a growl that made the hairs rise on Tyler’s arms. Swallowing, he was painfully aware of the dwindling supply of bullets in the magazine as he squeezed off a single round, aiming for the animal’s chest.
Two more jaguars lunged out of the trees with teeth bared before the first had hit the ground.
The hunt was on.
Slaider spun to his right as the shadows merged and started to flank them, while Tyler stayed focused on what was ahead. Instead of stopping, he took several purposeful steps forward while shooting at the same time.
The animals scattered.
“Don’t stop!” Devon yelled.
Tyler glanced over his shoulder in time to see Devon take a shot at a jaguar that was running up from behind. They were surrounding them.
Jess also had her handgun out, and was doing her best to watch behind them while trying to help Akuba.
“How many can there be?” Tyler yelled at Slaider. He hesitated to shoot at anything vague. The bullets that remained in the magazine of the AR were all that he had, and there couldn’t be many of them left.
Slaider turned to him, and the whites of his eyes glowed, enhancing the man’s look of terror. “I don’t know. I don’t—”
“Why are you stopped?” Peta yelled. “I heard gunshots.”
Tyler felt an incredible sense of relief wash through him as he saw Peta rushing toward them, dragging Jason behind her. He looked horrible and was barely able to stay on his feet enough to stumble along.
“I need your help!” Tyler shouted, motioning at her to hurry. “We’re almost out of ammo, so I’m trying not to shoot unless I have to.”
“They’re surrounding us,” Devon explained as he left Akuba to lean on Jess while he took Jason from Peta.
Peta grimaced and then scowled as she hefted the AR up and shook it. “The only thing this is good for now is a club,” she explained. Letting the rifle drop on its strap, she removed the Glock and stepped up in between Tyler and Slaider. “I’ve got two rounds left. Its why we had to retreat.”
Shifting suddenly, she reached around Tyler and pulled off a shot to their left, just in time to stop a jaguar about to leap from a tree. “One more,” she muttered.
“Marty,” Jason slurred.
“He too
k off,” Devon explained. “Couldn’t stop him, but he gave us an opening.”
“He’s got a better chance than we do,” Peta said, looking back at Jason with a mixture of what Tyler thought was regret and concern.
They moved forward as a group, stumbling through the dark and advancing one step at a time, all the while paced by both seen and unseen adversaries. Tyler suspected the growing body count of the cats and the smells that went with it were finally making the jaguars hesitant to advance faster on them. And while he felt somewhat encouraged, it was easy to forget that an even greater threat was waiting to move in when the cats were done.
“Is Davies close?” he asked Peta without looking away from the rifle.
“Yes.” Her voice was abrupt and she was obviously long past the point of trying to soften any of the harsh truths. “A bunch of injured jaguars on that log they have to get across is going to slow them down a little, but you’re right to be thinking that they’re still back there. He’s smart not to push it and allow nature to do his work for him.”
“This isn’t an act of nature,” Akuba spat, stumbling forward on her own to push in between them. She pulled at Peta’s arm and jutted her other hand out to reveal a gun. “Take mine. The clip is full.”
Peta’s hand settled over Akuba’s for a moment, and the women stared at each other. “Thank you,” Peta whispered, and Tyler felt the weight of those words. Akuba was such a constant presence without a lot of drama, that it was sometimes easy to forget about how she’d held everything together at the preserve, both before and after they’d shown up. The Lokono were her people, and she risked sacrificing everything to take them there.
Devon abruptly hefted Jason toward Jess and then shot twice at a jaguar running up the trail behind them. It staggered and then fell less than ten feet away, forcing them all to move closer together. It was impossible to know where the next one would come from.
“I can’t hold him!” Jess gasped.
Jason fell into Tyler’s back, and he turned to grab at the large man before he hit the ground. Tyler could feel the heat radiating through his shirt, and even in the dark he could see how pale Jason was. It reminded him of Hernandez, and the thought made his breath catch. He couldn’t lose Jason, too. Not when they were so close.
