A mix of sadness and triumph passed through her as Noah took one more step in her direction, then collapsed to his knees, slowly drowning in his own fluids. Her friend had saved her one last time, avenging himself in the process.
The devil reached out to her, his mouth moving but no sound escaping. Even faced with the near impossibility of reading his misshapen lips in the dark, she was certain of what he was trying to say.
Exhausted, injured, but alive, she looked him in the eye one last time before he collapsed in front of her.
“I told you. My name is Danni Kent, and I was never yours.”
EPILOGUE
“Turn that up,” Danni said, “I want to hear it.”
“Can’t imagine why.” Mitchell let out a bitter laugh as he cranked up the volume in the small waiting room.
On the screen, the news was playing highlights from the previous night’s gubernatorial debate, specifically a section where Governor Jonas Yarlberg – most likely soon to be ex-governor – was absolutely lambasted by his opponent for his role in attempting to cover up an ecological disaster in the Pine Barrens.
He was being blamed not only for the environmental impact, which had rapidly become a hotbed item in this year’s election, but for covering up the disappearances of several people who’d gone missing in the area. He hadn’t been formally charged yet and – according to what they’d heard – likely wouldn’t be, but the damage to his reputation was almost certainly irreparable.
It was a small, bittersweet victory compared to all the other lives that had been lost, but it was a well-deserved one nevertheless.
In the end, upon escaping the forest, their show had actually been their saving grace. Despite the governor’s best attempts to clamp a lid on things, their status as minor celebrities had prevailed – helped by the fact that the ambulance driver who’d responded to their 9-1-1 call was a fan. Unbeknownst to them at the time, he tweeted out their dire status almost immediately after dropping them off at the hospital.
Not even Yarlberg’s myriad friendships had been able to stop the story from going viral. When rumor began to spread that the cast of The Crypto Hunter was not only badly injured but suffering from the effects of exposure to toxins too, the governor’s house of cards began to collapse. Donald Krychech’s abrupt resignation a few days later only served to fuel those rumors.
Though what had leaked was more than enough, the public would sadly never be allowed to know the whole truth. Despite his ties to Washington, Yarlberg was powerless to stop the ATF officials who descended upon the Wharton State Forest to clean up any evidence that Derek and his team had been there.
Samples were collected and bodies burned. Thanks to information Danni was able to provide, the Lesterfield compound – a derelict paper mill from the dawn of the industrial revolution – was found. Sophie Guiterrez was rescued, alive but in critical condition. Unfortunately, the bodies of several other victims – including Abigail – were also discovered.
No trace of survivors from the Lesterfield clan were found – including the one Derek and Julia had left lying unconscious in the woods. It was as if he, and any others who might have escaped, simply disappeared into the night, hopefully to never be seen again – a likely scenario since their former home was now the epicenter of a massive cleanup effort by the state’s new head of environmental protection.
♦ ♦ ♦
The governor was just sputtering out a response of “no comment” on the TV when Danni heard the door to the inner office open. Derek stepped out and closed it behind him. He’d been hospitalized since their return from the Pine Barrens, having only recently been released. However, he still had months of physical therapy ahead of him to regain full use of his left arm. Even now, he couldn’t quite stop it from shaking slightly as he approached his teammates.
“Norah wanted a few minutes alone to speak with her. Last-minute paperwork, make sure she knows what she’s getting into.”
“And probably warn her to ignore all your bullshit,” Mitchell said.
Derek smiled, then turned to Danni. “You sure you’re okay with this?”
Danni nodded. “Nobody can replace Frank, but as you told me last year, the show must go on.”
Derek reached up to wipe a tear from his eye. “So I did.”
Danni put a hand on his shoulder as her own eyes misted up. They were the lucky ones. They’d lived to tell the tale. Others weren’t so fortunate. Even less so were their families.
Arthur’s parents were now stuck in the same boat as her own. He’d been gone by the time she limped back to the clearing, despite Mitchell’s best efforts. Now his family was left to think his death was nothing more than a stupid accident. They couldn’t be told the real reason why he’d ventured into the woods that day, nor of how brave he’d been.
Still, she wasn’t sure which was worse: his parents believing a lie, or that Francis’s wife knew the truth yet couldn’t tell anyone. At least Shakti understood that her husband had been a hero to the end, but it would be a long time before she could take any comfort in that now that their future together had been stolen.
The team was there for her, but all of them were aware that it wasn’t nearly enough, especially since their superiors had already handed them their next assignment. The show indeed had to go on and, in order to do that, they all had to be on board and with a full roster.
At first, Danni had been against Derek’s suggestion of Julia joining the team, but she realized that was nothing more than her own anger and hurt speaking. She knew the others had likely felt a similar resentment toward her following Chuck’s death, even if none of them had ever voiced it. The mission was bigger than any of them and they all understood that.
Julia had proven herself to them. And, sadly, though the governor’s influence was shrinking by the day, he’d still been spiteful enough to pull what strings he could to ensure her career as a journalist was over. She needed them and they, interestingly enough, needed her. As it turned out, she’d started her career behind the camera before being promoted to the front of the screen.
“Any word on her sister?” Mitchell asked, wiping his eyes and changing the subject.
Derek shook his head. “Julia said she hasn’t been returning any of her calls.”
“Poor girl.”
Derek nodded. “She lost her husband, suffered through God-knows-what, and can’t even talk about it. She’s going to need time.”
“But Julia is her sister,” Danni replied.
“I know, but we each have to heal in our own way.”
“How’s Julia taking it?”
“She’s putting on a tough face, but you can tell she’s hurting inside. Nevertheless, she’s grateful her sister is alive. For now, that’s good enough. Eventually she’ll come around. And at least we’ll be busy enough to not dwell on it much.”
Mitchell let out a sigh that turned into a chuckle. “No rest for the wicked.”
“None indeed. Norah told me that those squatches in Arkansas are acting up again. Sounds like a rogue male, maybe two. Then there’s been complaints of chupacabra activity at some farm in New Mexico...”
“Call a dog catcher. Freaking coyotes with mange aren’t our problem.”
Danni patted the medic on the shoulder. “Don’t knock an easy assignment when they give us one.”
“Oh,” Derek continued, “and there’ve also been reports of divers going missing off the coast of Bermuda. There was an abandoned fishing boat found with sucker marks six inches wide in its hull, which would indicate a...”
“Sold,” Danni interrupted.
“Huh?”
“You could have stopped at Bermuda. I don’t know about you, but I’ve about had it up to here with forests for a while.”
Derek smiled sadly and nodded. “Yeah, me too.”
♦ ♦ ♦
Sophie Guiterrez erased the messages on her machine – two from her mom, one from a concerned aunt, and three more from her sister. As she stepped aw
ay from the phone and into the kitchen, a spasm racked her stomach, nearly doubling her over.
She grabbed hold of the countertop to steady herself and squeezed her eyes shut until it passed. It was the same as always, but she’d begun to welcome the pain. Best yet, she was certain she’d felt a kick this time.
It was probably too early, but she knew what she felt and it made her proud. Her baby – John’s baby. Despite everything that had happened, their child was alive and growing within her.
The doctors had all shown concern for her condition, specifically her blood tests. They wanted to monitor her progress, take steps to terminate it if necessary. She wouldn’t allow that. After all she’d been through, they wouldn’t take her baby away, too.
She made sure of that – checked herself out of the hospital, sequestered herself away, and kept the pregnancy a secret from her family. She was certain they’d understand, but at the same time, she didn’t want to run the risk of them trying to talk her out of it.
Despite what those monsters had done to her, she knew – knew – the baby was John’s, one last miracle from God before he’d taken her husband into his fold. It had to be. And, knowing that, she wouldn’t let anyone take that away from her.
Sophie swallowed some vitamins, then washed them down with water. As she was leaving the kitchen, she felt another kick from inside, stronger than the first, and she winced at the force behind it.
Yes. Their child was going to be strong and healthy. She wouldn’t let anyone tell her otherwise, no matter what.
THE END
The Crypto-Hunter will return in
Kraken Hunters
♦ ♦ ♦
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed this tale and I’d absolutely love it if we could stay in touch – no matter whether you’re interested in new releases, geeky fun, or just occasionally shooting the breeze.
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AUTHOR’S NOTE
So ... this one might have been a wee bit late. Yeah, that’s entirely my fault. But there’s the old saying about better late than never.
Truth be told, I was beginning to worry that never might be the case. But, no matter how many times I put this story back into my digital drawer, the fact remained that I’d made a promise: both to my readers and myself that this story would see the light of day.
Now, don’t get me wrong, this is less a tale of woe and more one of it simply not being the right time. The tale presented here is fairly unchanged from the outline I first created for it, so it was never a case of being unhappy with the story itself.
Devil Hunters had the unfortunate luck to be started right when two other things were happening – the muse had dropped an awesome story idea into my head, which would eventually become The Necromancer’s Wife (by my nom de plume Cara Vance), and my other series The Tome of Bill was starting to gain in popularity.
Both events caused me to set this aside with that most vile of lies to myself: I’ll get right back to this.
Needless to say, it took somewhat longer than expected and for that I sincerely apologize. That said, please do not think I enjoyed writing this any less as a result. I continue to be wildly passionate about cryptozoology as well as monster stories. As much as I might enjoy writing my comedic novels, there is something about a bloody monster rampage that is satisfyingly cathartic.
I hope you feel the same way and that you’ll stick around for a while longer. We’re not done with this world and its characters yet, not by a long shot.
Rick G.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rick Gualtieri lives alone in central New Jersey with only his wife, three kids, and countless pets to both keep him company and constantly plot against him. When he’s not busy monkey-clicking words, he can typically be found jealously guarding his collection of vintage Transformers from all who would seek to defile them.
Defilers beware!
Rick Gualtieri is the author of several books, including:
Bill the Vampire (The Tome of Bill - 1)
Night Stalker: A Tome of Bill Series Companion
Scary Dead Things (The Tome of Bill - 2)
The Mourning Woods (The Tome of Bill - 3)
Holier Than Thou (The Tome of Bill - 4)
Sunset Strip: A Tome of Bill Series Companion
Goddamned Freaky Monsters (The Tome of Bill - 5)
Half A Prayer (The Tome of Bill - 6)
The Wicked Dead (The Tome of Bill - 7)
Shining Fury: A Tome of Bill Series Companion
The Last Coven (The Tome of Bill - 8)
The Tome of Bill Series: Volume One
The Tome of Bill Series: Volume Two
Bigfoot Hunters
Lycan Moon
Midnite’s Daughter
Devil Hunters (Tales of the Crypto-Hunter Book 2) Page 38
