A moan erupted from him. His head jolted, and his eyes burst open. They darted around before lighting on me. Fear and agony filled them. “Lesha,” he croaked. “Help…me.”
There was little I could do for him now.
He gasped and shuddered. “Oh, God. Hurts.”
This was horrible. I wouldn’t ask for anyone to suffer this way. I dropped to my knees beside him. “I…I’ll do what I can. Did you see Malik? He came after you.”
“Fucking ironic, huh?” He grimaced. “I wanted to kill…the bastard.”
I shook my head. “Where is he? Tell me.”
“Hurts.” His lower lip shook so much his teeth rattled. They’d pinned his arms to the ground. One bent at an awkward angle and must be broken.
“I’m sorry.” I couldn’t think of anything else to say.
When he snapped his head back and forth, the loose flesh on his face smacked, splattering blood. Bile surged into my throat.
“My belly.” He grimaced. “Killin’ me.”
He could have internal injuries. Not that I could do anything for him if he did. Leaning forward, I loosened the tie on his ankle. “Where does it hurt most?”
“Everywhere.”
I scooted around his feet and worked on the tie holding his other leg down. “You said you saw Malik?”
“They got him.” He moaned. “We’re all. Going to die.”
I jumped to my feet. “You’re wrong. Don’t say that.”
His voice hissed out of him. “These people are vicious. They never stop.” His head thrashed. “Run. Run. We will catch you.” He said the last in a mocking tone. “I…I couldn’t fight them off.”
“You had Malik’s gun.”
He whispered, “No charges.”
Kneeling, I worked on the tie holding his uninjured wrist. “Who are we dealing with? The colonists?”
“Masks. Couldn’t tell. They spoke English.” He groaned. “They hunt for fun. It’s all a big game. Why? Why?”
The horror in his voice spread through my body like a plague. “Was Malik with them when they did this to you?”
“Tied him, too.” His eyes slid shut and his breath shuddered to a stop. I leaned forward, expecting it to be his last.
Please. Don’t die on me now. “Tell me.” Crawling forward, I cupped his chin and tilted his head my way. The loose skin flopped, and my belly shifted. “Where did they take him? Think.”
He inhaled. “Into the mountains. Bet they’ll do this to him. Wait and see. They’ll do it to everyone.”
My spine stiffened. I wouldn’t let them hurt anyone else. I’d track them down until there was no one left but—
“Kill me.”
His words wrenched me out of my aching need for vengeance. “What?”
“You want to.” His blue eyes locked on mine. “I can tell. Kill me.”
“You’re crazy.” My knees squished on something wet, drawing my eyes. Blood. I shuddered.
“Please.”
“I…I can’t.” I fumbled my hand into my pocket and yanked out my knife.
“Please!”
The blade snicked free.
“Make it deep. The carotid.” Riley’s voice lowered. “When I’m gone, your implant won’t work.”
He had a point. One slice, and I could end it with him now. No more forced pairing. No more watching over my shoulder. No more worrying I’d crave him.
But could I risk my life? The snake bites were not fully tested, so I couldn’t rely on them to heal me if I contracted some horrible illness. Without my immunity booster, I’d be vulnerable. Was it worth taking the chance?
“Do it.” His eyes narrowed on my face. “Babe.”
The taunt made me tighten my grip on my knife.
It sang to me of freedom.
With a grimace, I tucked back my sleeve with precise folds.
I braced my arm against my thigh and sliced deep. The pain exploded in my mind, but I shoved the sensation aside. Using the tip, I prodded, sinking inside, digging until I gouged out my implant.
It thunked in the grass.
Now, I was free.
Only time would tell if I’d die without the immunity booster, but my mind would no longer be ruled by a stinking device.
It felt good to take control of something.
“Kill me, damn you.” The words croaked out of him.
“You want to die?” I reached across him and cut his last tie, then stabbed my knife into the dirt beside his face, making him flinch. “Do it yourself.”
I scrambled to my feet and raced around the clearing, studying the ground until I picked up tracks leading into the mountains.
It felt good to leave a piece of myself behind. Riley could use it to decide his own fate.
I’d already chosen mine.
Chapter Thirty-One
I ran through the morning, stopping only when I had to rest. My steps took me higher into the mountains. Enormous trees grew around me in the moist, dark forest. Colorful birds squawked and flew up from thickets of downed branches when I drew close, warning other creatures of my passage. Brown, long-limbed animals chattered and swung through the trees above me.
I came to a hot river. I’d always thought bodies of water were cold. Locating a shallow place, I waded across. Warm water sloshed around my thighs and rose to my waist before I reached the opposite shore.
As the sun grew higher in the sky, I picked up my pace. My days walking in the desert paid off, and my muscles responded to my demand to keep moving, to go faster.
Following tracks, I left the dense forest behind and raced across open meadows, climbing in elevation all the time. I splashed through more streams, easily picking up the trail on the other side. It was as if whoever had taken Malik believed no one would follow.
Perhaps they’d never been hunted.
Mid-afternoon, after I’d traveled what felt like the width of the desert, I came to an open area about half the size of the valley the colonists had settled. On the opposite side, enormous cliffs rose in tiers to cloud-encased peaks. Wood smoke drifted on the wind, smarting my nose.
I’d found a camp. Were the hunters here and if so, did they have Malik? No screams. Either they hadn’t started on him yet, or they’d already finished.
I shivered, unable to accept he was dead.
With a heavy sigh, I settled on the ground and leaned against a tree to catch my breath. As limp as I was, I’d be no good to anyone until I’d rested. My muscles twitched, threatening to give up altogether.
Voices drifted to me in my wooded hiding place, but I couldn’t make out a word. I’d have to get closer.
I resisted the urge to race across the field, crossbow bolts flying. I didn’t want to risk them turning quickly on Malik and ending his life. And rushing in there would only get myself killed. If I wasn’t careful, I’d find myself pinned to the ground with a stake through my heart.
Besides, this might not be the hunter’s camp. It could be colonists, hiding. If so, I could ask them to help.
I drank some water and soon felt stronger. Careful where I placed my feet, I moved through the woods to the right side of the field, sticking to thicker vegetation to mask my sounds. The uphill elevation gave me a good view of the camp.
Squatting behind a cluster of leafy shrubs, I peeked at the scene below. In a hard-packed area in the middle of the field, they’d lit a fire. If you want to hide a fire, you light it underneath a big tree so the smoke dissipates as it filters up into the sky. That makes it harder to track the location.
It was obvious by this and the lack of guards that they weren’t worried about being hunted. They’d brought it to us, never expecting one of us to bring it to them.
A growl ripped through my chest but I bit it back before releasing it. Malik had cautioned me never to hate but how else could I feel about them? They’d stalked most of us and for all I knew, they’d killed everyone in the colony. Three hundred people should have been able to fight them off, but most of the initial gr
oup sent were scientists and medical people, not soldiers. Eris was supposedly a safe planet. The early messages we received said this place was paradise. While there was some truth to that statement, it was also a nightmare. One we might need to face from now on.
Malik sat close beside the fire. While I was relieved to find him alive, my gut sank when I saw his hands pinned behind his back. One of the captors faced him, waving her arms in the air and shouting. Malik replied. So, Riley and Nikolai were right when they said these hunters spoke English.
Four other hunters squatted on their heels near the fire. A hunk of meat roasted over the flames, and the sickly sweet essence of charred meat drifted in the wind. My stomach growled, reminding me I hadn’t eaten since last night.
They wore clothing much like ours, but they’d removed their masks.
Five women. Why no men? Not that it mattered. I shook my head, unable to make sense of what this could mean. But a few things stood out…
These weren’t colonists hunting us down, torturing my friends in the desert.
They weren’t from ReGreen.
They weren’t a primitive indigenous group hunting us with ancient weapons.
The drone surveys had been correct. No people had lived on Eris before the colonists arrived.
A small, sleek hovercraft was parked on the other side of the field, its silvery hull winking in the light. I didn’t understand spacecraft, but this one looked much more sophisticated than the jets Earth’s military used.
Had they come here solely to hunt?
A burning need to know who they were filled me, but I’d save my questions until after I rescued Malik.
The big question was: how?
As much as I wanted to rush down the hill, laser gun blasting, actions like that would be stupid. I needed to see what I dealt with first. They could have back-up on the ship. Or I could have missed guards waiting on the opposite side.
Taking out five would be a stretch for me, but if there were more, I’d be sending myself on a suicide mission. I also had my crossbow, but I was nowhere near sharpshooter status. And I couldn’t reload as quickly as would be needed.
The meat cooked, and my frustration grew. When they took their kill off the fire, sliced it, and passed around steaming chunks they ripped apart with their fangs. They drank from a flask I assumed contained alcohol, because one of them leaped to her feet and danced around the fire while she guzzled it.
My heart in my throat, I cupped my face and released a cry of pain.
They froze. The one I took for the leader scanned the hill and woods, and I remained as motionless as a rabbit. She growled and nudged one of the drinkers in the shoulder, speaking by her ear.
The woman handed the bottle to another and, lifting a long blade, started toward the woods to my left.
I crawled backward until I reached the woods then started in the direction she was taking, using one of the trails snaking through this direction. When her slow, cautious footsteps echoed my way, I looked around, spying a tree with a low branch I could grab onto, I swung myself up and crouched among the thick vegetation.
She crept along the trail, the blade tight in her hand. When she stopped beneath me, I pounced.
I landed on her back hard, knocking her to the ground and before she could buck me off, I discharged the pistol, hitting her in the back of the skull. Bits of her flung around, some smacking my face. I gulped and dropped the weapon with bile rushing up in the back of my throat. I swallowed it back, refusing to give away my location with retching.
She didn’t move. She’d never move again. No, she’d never kill one of my friends again, and that made this a hell of a lot easier.
They’d brought this to us. I was just showing them a taste of the hunt.
Gory, but a quick kill.
Panting, I stood over her still body, my body a mess of shivers. Killing, even for necessity, never came easy.
I dragged her underneath a thick bush, hoping they wouldn’t find her. The bits of her brain, drawing flies already, I left.
Let them feel what it was like to worry about someone, all while knowing it was too late.
Rage poured through me, shoving aside my fear. I didn’t want to do this, but I had to. My friends needed to be avenged.
Creeping back to the edge of the woods, I crouched down and watched.
They didn’t seem concerned about their missing friend, but it hadn’t been long.
Finished with their meal, they’d moved on to Malik for dessert.
Although I’d checked them both at least fifteen times, I made sure my laser gun was ready to fire again and that my crossbow bolt was securely in place. Gripping them tightly, I crept to the right but stopped abruptly.
Only three women. Where had the fourth gone? Shit, shit.
My blood boiled with fear, and my skin crawled. Where was she?
A subtle crack behind me sent me whirling, my pulse thundering in my throat.
One of the women leaped from the woods, toward me.
With my lungs aflame, I lifted the crossbow and shot. The bolt lodged in her thigh, and she stumbled but kept coming, a knife lifting in her hand.
I shot the laser pistol from my hip, hitting her in the arm. Shit. If I didn’t take her out rather than wound her, she’d kill me within seconds.
Feet planted apart, I sighted down the pistol and pulled the trigger like Malik had taught me.
Bullseye.
She shuddered to a stop in front of me and stared down at her chest where my laser had hit. As she gaped, her mouth guppy spasming, her eyes tipped back. She toppled to the ground, landing on her back.
Staring up at the sky blankly, she stopped breathing.
Malik’s cry of pain sent me spinning in that direction. I had to get to him before the others killed him.
My fingers twitching, I reloaded the crossbow, grinding my teeth together when I dropped the bolt twice. After checking to make sure I still had charges, I crept back to my hiding spot. I wouldn’t sit or watch, but I couldn’t go barreling down the hill screaming. The remaining women would kill me in seconds.
Or tie me to the ground as their next victim.
Ducked down, I scooted through the deep grass below the forest and into a low area close to the field. I flopped on my belly, hoping I hadn’t been seen.
One of the three remaining women kicked Malik in the side. Another lifted a spear and smacked his head, making him slump to the ground.
Showtime. I sighted down the staff and released my first bolt. It hit the woman tying Malik’s arm to a stake in the arm and made shouts erupt from the others. Ignoring them, I loaded another bolt and shot, hitting the wounded one in the throat. She gurgled, clutched her neck, and toppled backward on the ground. Blood squirted into the air in bright arcs from her severed artery.
Adrenalin tightened my limbs, and my heart flailed behind my ribcage. No more would someone try to control me or hurt me. If my uncle was here right now, he’d be joining these women, dead on the ground. I took grim satisfaction in the thought.
Two left, one holding Malik and one coming for me. When she drew near, I utilized the trick Malik had taught me. I grabbed her arm, yanked her toward me, and flipped her over my hip. Before she could rise from the ground, I shot her in the head with my laser pistol.
My belly lurched around. Killing might satisfy my burning need for revenge, but I took no pride and no satisfaction in ending so many lives.
One predator left. As I paced toward the remaining woman, my anger burst out of me in a feral shriek. The woman hauled Malik upright and slid behind him, using him as a shield.
He butted his head back, and she grunted. But her grip didn’t loosen. He bucked and roared but she didn’t let go. She smacked him on the head, and he gazed forward blankly, stunned into submission.
We’d reached an impasse, but I wasn’t going down—neither of us was going down—without a fight. I strode forward, my gun lifted in front of me with both hands. For once in my life, when f
acing adversity, my hands did not tremble.
The woman was half a head taller than Malik, but had roughly the same build. On Earth, her pointed nose, full lips, and wide eyes would have fit right in with anyone else. Even her dark hair wasn’t unusual. But her hands would have drawn attention. Her three fingers were much thicker than ours. One worked like a thumb, helping her clutch a short spear with an ornate, bone tip. The woman pressed the bone spear against Malik’s side.
“I don’t get it,” I muttered. “Why use something so primitive if you have a starship?” It made no sense.
“Drop the weapon,” she barked.
No way. The time for we have come in peace had long since passed. “Let him go.” I gestured with my laser pistol. “And step back.”
“No,” she said. “If I let him go, you will shoot.”
She had that right. I’d shoot for damn sure, hitting her right in the chest.
Malik slumped into the alien, hanging against her side. Blood seeped from every exposed part of his body where they’d cut him. My heart tightened at the evidence they’d enjoyed their chase before they caught him. He had to be in pain but he didn’t move. His face hung slackly. Had she caused a brain injury when she hit him?
As I took in his wounds, my rage grew. The slow burn that had sparked as I’d rushed through the woods and defeated the others burst into a full wildfire.
“Let him go,” I shouted.
The alien’s eyes slid to her friends lying in the grass. Her gaze scanned the woods and when our eyes met, she knew I’d eliminated them, too. “You killed my sisters. There is no honor in this kind of death.”
“Honor? Who the hell are you to talk about honor? You’re a fuckin’ murderer!”
“No murder. We hunt,” she said calmly.
Malik’s gaze locked on mine, the brown in them darkening to night. “Run,” he whispered.
“Without the hunt, we cannot mate,” the woman said. “If I let this man go, I will live in shame. Without an honorable hunt, without the chase and the kill, I have no right to a mate and children.” With a quick thrust, she drove the spear into Malik’s side.
Phoenix Arise: YA Sci-fi Thriller (From the Ashes Book 1) Page 26
