Ace

by Kim Faulks

  “Fresh blood here,” Alpha growled.

  I scanned the area and stepped faster moving through the next building. Rusted foldaway cots were scattered throughout. I sidestepped ruptured striped mattresses and stepped into what would’ve passed for a small mess and kitchen big enough to house those who remained onsite.

  “Jesus, the sonofabitch was just here. Remnants of a fire, still hot enough to cook…and…a damn deer—what’s left of it anyway.”

  I dropped my shoulder and charged the door. Wood howled against swollen timber planks, and the outside light rushed in. I charged ahead, rounding the building where Alpha disappeared. Blood splatter outside…drops lead around to the doorway. I lingered on the stairs, climbing them slowly.

  Blood smeared across the doorframe…high…too high. I lifted my hand and the stain fell short. “How tall would you say Newman was?”

  A darkened silhouette turned toward me. “Five-nine.”

  The mark fell short. I stepped inside, catching sight of the fawn first, and then the remnants of a fire. Alpha’s combat boots left tread in the dust, but there was something else…something that lingered at the smudge of his boots. I hit the button on my flashlight and moved the beam across the floor. “Move backwards.”

  The outline of a body curved…the distance from one end to the other almost the perfect height to leave behind the trace of blood. “Someone was here.” I pointed to the outline as Gunny moved in from my right.

  She followed my light with her own. “Looks like a struggle.”

  Something caught the beam. I knelt and skimmed my finger across the ground. Hair…long hair that shone like silver in the cool white glow.

  I glanced at the outline…in the shape of a person. “You’ve got your men around the perimeter, right?”

  “Yeah,” Alpha growled, and then touched his earpiece and moved away.

  His orders filled my ears, but I was taken by the strand in my hand and the butchered carcass feet away. The beast’s dark eyes were dull, flat…life long gone. I grasped the skin and stared at the cuts…not an animal—these were made by a knife.

  The empty chopper nagged me. If I were the gutless bastard I’d be long gone…so why have the pilot hang around? Why have him exposed if he didn’t need to be? “He’s still here.” I wrenched my head upward to stare into my brother’s gaze. “The sonofabitch is still here.”

  “You have a bead on the chopper?” Alpha barked. “What do you mean it’s sitting south?”

  I shoved up from the floor, dropping the strand of hair. Wherever that chopper was, that was where I needed to be.

  “Let’s hustle,” Gunny snarled right behind me, but I was already racing for the doorway, and the soft slope of the hill beyond. “Me first, Gunny.”

  The beat of the chopper’s blades was so faint now, drawing my gaze as I rounded the end of the building and headed to the closest gap in the fence line. He was still out there. Hiding…running.

  I stepped left, moving in front of my commander and ducked my head as an unseen fist punched me in the shoulder, taking me to the ground.

  For a second I couldn’t move…couldn’t think. Sunlight streamed into my eyes, blinding me until Alpha came into view. He stared at me, screaming…but I couldn’t hear a sound.

  Everything moved slowly.

  My brother.

  My breath.

  The earth.

  I raised my head to a sea of blood across my chest… “My hands…my fingers.” Dull growl, hollow like a drum as Alpha hauled me backwards. Bits of dirt flew into the air inches from my feet as bullets flew. “My hands…my fingers.”

  “Don’t worry about that now!” Gunny screamed. Her words I heard…her face I saw, as she raised her rifle, took aim and fired.

  The bitter scent of gunpowder filled the air. Each boom filled me with rage. “My hands…my fingers.”

  My weapon lay inches from my feet. I reached for the butt of my weapon as Gunny stumbled backwards; crimson bloomed, splattering her face, and underneath black markings rose on her skin. “Fucking bastard!”

  “Gunny.”

  My words were drowned out in a sea of gunfire as she unleashed her rage. I shoved up from the ground to be swallowed by an ocean. The wave of dizziness rushed and seemed to spill from my shoulder.

  My hands.

  My fingers.

  Without them I was useless…

  Without them my team was weak.

  Darkness crowded in, stealing the boom from her weapon. I ground my jaw and curled my fingers, spearing into the ground. “Gunny…”

  Brown hair scattered as she whipped her gaze to mine. There was panic there…something I’d never seen before. The chattering of semi-automatic fire smacked into the corner of the building inches from her head.

  She flinched, ducked as splinters flew, and then wrenched me close. Her fingers were cruel, poking, prodding, finding the bottom of my pain. I bit down, fighting the darkness as she pinched and pressed. “It’s a through and through. I need to get you to a hospital Ace…”

  I shook my head, and then looked past her to Alpha. The faint sound of the chopper wore like an exposed nerve, dragging me forward to grip my rifle as bullets hit an inch from my reach. “Let’s go.”

  “Jesus,” Gunny snarled, and then shoved to her feet. She punched her headpiece and barked to Alpha’s men. “Suppression fire, northeast. The first person that hits that sonofabitch gets a carton of their favorite.”

  The hard chatter of gunfire filled the air. I gripped my weapon and shoved from the ground. A wave of agony stole my breath, blood spilled, running in rivulets under my shirt.

  Alpha speared for the break in the fence line. I matched his stride, stumbling, ducking my head to the sting of broken strands of wire cutting my back, and pushed through.

  The slam of my boots killed, spearing agony through my damn chest.

  Alpha took one quick glance over his shoulder before he powered over the rise.

  The hot, bitter scent of blood and gunpowder gripped my gut and twisted.

  Hate echoed in my brother’s eyes—the kind that swept you away.

  I swallowed the pain and shot forward as we raced for the crowded woodland and the damn chopper flying above.

  6

  Ghost

  My right knee buckled. Pain lashed my side. The sun seemed to slip from the sky. Gray trees…gray earth…gray me. The ground tilted, rising up. I slammed into the gnarled trunk of a fir and held on.

  Keep moving, Spirit whispered. Run…hide.

  The big black bird hunted, hovering over the trees, screaming…roaring—searching for me.

  It wanted to hurt…just like Human wanted to hurt. It wanted to leave me cold like the fawn—not eaten, not sacred—just empty.

  The feel of human hands still lingered, probing, pinching, making my belly quake—spilling acid into my mouth—and agony followed. The claw moved deeper. I probed my side with tender fingers, only to come away red. Blood welled under my nails and raced toward my palm. I coughed, gagged. Spittle spilled from my mouth and hit the ground.

  Hard breath drove the agony deeper as I stumbled. The soft flask slapped my thigh. I licked arid lips and yanked the tie, upending the last trickle of water into my mouth.

  The sun glinted off something in the distance, something that dulled as I moved. I slipped the tie around my waist, glanced up to the sky, and kept on moving. The black bird couldn’t follow me, not under the cover of the pines.

  The piercing shine came once more…something secret…something hidden. I gripped my side and stumbled forward keeping the glint at my right. I’d passed through here…chasing…hunting. There’d been no glare then. My lip curled as a warning growl rumbled my chest.

  Stay away…stay away from me.

  The ratta-tat-tat of some strange bird called out in the distance, ending my growl as I stared at the hill I left behind. Bad place…an icy caress touched the nape of my neck as a screech cut through the forest. I stepped closer as somethi
ng moved.

  My belly tightened and twisted, rumbling like a bitten bear. Hungry…eat…

  The primal drive pushed me forward as the snap of a twig fought the thunder above. Darkness moved amongst the shadows at my right…too big…too—I breathed deep, scenting the breeze. My insides tightened as the heady scent of blood filled the air.

  Too human…

  Leaves scattered as he slipped through the trees ahead. A whimper slipped from my lips, making him still, and then turn.

  Human stood in front of a hole in the ground. Leaves spilled inside. There was only darkness—only nothing. The shiny thing—metal—like a doorway into the earth, lay open in front of him. I dropped my gaze to the darkened green shirt stuck hard against his skin and dragged in the scent of blood.

  Human’s lips moved, but I couldn’t hear his words—only see the curl of his lips and the darkness of his eyes.

  I held my side and stumbled backwards, kicking the root of a tree as he bent and slid the metal across the doorway. He worked something at the front, and then stood, swung his foot, skimming leaves high into the air. They floated, caught on the breeze, and settled across the metal.

  Covering the darkness…like a trap.

  I knew traps. Knew the sharp things that waited inside.

  I wrenched my gaze to his as Human heaved a pouch from the ground. The top open, exposed…no water…no food. Pale leaves bigger than my hand fluttered as the opening gaped. He winced, took a step toward me, and then looked up to the sky, before dropping his gaze.

  I’m coming for you… Human lips moved.

  That, I understood.

  He dragged the dark thing against his ear and yelled. Wind scattered the leaves as the ferocious bird moved closer. I cowered, slamming my hands over my eyes as the bird created a frenzy like a summer squall. Pine needles slapped my face and tangled in my hair as a rope fell through the pines to hit the ground near his feet.

  Human grasped the rope and wound it around his waist. His feet left the ground, hovering for a second before he flew like a bird into the air and cut through the gap in the trees.

  Something smacked the pouch at his hand. The opening widened…pale leaves fluttered to the ground.

  A blur at the corner of my eye dragged my focus…two humans came running…with their green and their rage. They screamed and howled, but the sound was stolen by the wind. They hated…Human to Human. They wanted to maim and kill…each other.

  The thought couldn’t find space in my mind. To have another…to see another would be everything.

  I dropped my hands as one human aimed a shining thing in his hand and a boom roared. Bark flew from the pine tree’s belly. I flinched as the boom fought the roar of the wind. He hurt, he savaged…but the trees had done no harm. The trees never killed, never hurt…not like Human.

  The other one stilled, scanned the ground and settled on the metal. Red bathed his shoulder. The sharp scent was carried on the wind, filling me…too much blood. Sickness…sickness and death. He stumbled, and pointed. His knee buckled and he hit the ground.

  The other raced, grasping him at the last second. He spoke and pointed, but I couldn’t hear his words. “Too much blood,” I whispered. “Too much.”

  I took a step, consumed by fear…but drawn by something else—a need to save, to rescue.

  The bleeding Human lifted his head. Pale skin shone as he found me. His brow narrowed, eyes widened. He stilled for a second, taking the time to slowly place his weapon to the ground. “It’s okay,” Human called. “He’s gone.”

  I looked at the weapon on the ground. Human didn’t care. Human didn’t comfort.

  Human only killed and left the bleeding behind.

  But not this Human.

  This Human stumbled and hit the ground, still staring at me until his eyes fluttered closed.

  This Human didn’t move…

  “Ace,” his kin screamed and dropped to his knees. “Ace! Buddy, come on…”

  He pressed his ear and yelled. “Gunny, Ace is down. We need a medic fast!”

  My lips curled with the taste of his terror. I took a step backwards as memories surfaced. Mama! Papa! It was the same terror…the same loss.

  So I did the only thing I could do…the only thing that had ever saved me.

  I turned and ran.

  7

  Ace

  The beep of a machine dragged me higher. I followed the sound leaving a dreamless sleep behind. Footsteps followed, then a male voice, old and unfamiliar, snarling about a bombing. The drone of a TV to my right snagged my focus.

  I pried open my eyes, white light flooded in. Too bright…too hard, too heavy. I eased them closed and waited for the familiar.

  Alpha…

  Gunny…

  I licked dried lips and tried to remember. But the beep…the fucking beep. My fingers twitched, hands were heavy. I needed a rifle, and a bullet—just one…to shut the damn thing up.

  Beep…beep…beep…beep…

  I tried again, peeling lids open only to blink away the tears.

  “Hey there, you’re awake.”

  I looked up as someone moved close. A woman…in scrubs. The sharp scent of alcohol filled me with fear. I couldn’t be here, couldn’t be anywhere…Alpha…Gunny… I gripped the cold steel frame and wrenched, lifting my head form the pillow.

  “No, don’t move…back down, Mister. You’re in Davonport General Hospital. Do you remember why you’re here?”

  Her hand hit my chest, pushing, and she was damn strong. Cords tangled around my hand….plastic tubing of a cannula rubbed. “Get this off me.”

  Numerous attacks across the city…

  The hum of the TV crowded in.

  Government officials have been massacred in what can only be described as an attack on our great nation…

  “You’re okay, honey.” She gave me a soft pat and murmured. “Just relax. It’s just a drip, we’re giving you some fluids. You lost a lot of blood, Holden. Honey, you’re lucky to be alive.”

  Shifters…Dragons…hiding in the mountains.

  “You were shot in the shoulder. Do you remember how that happened?”

  Cause of the attacks…

  “Alpha.” The croak burned. I tried to swallow…and swallow. “He here?”

  The nurse shook her head and reached for the plastic tumbler on the bedside table. “I don’t know any Alpha. You were brought in by an unknown woman. She refused to give her name…only yours so we could find you in the system. Holden, is that right? Holden Lee?”

  In the system. I closed my eyes and nodded. I’d spend my entire life in there.

  The name felt vaguely familiar, like a whisper in the past, something haunting—something that wasn’t me, not anymore. My fingers trembled, pressing against hers as I dragged the cup to my lips. Ice clinked against the side as I swallowed. Memories surfaced…the forest—the buildings and a room filled with blood.

  “Slowly now. There’s plenty more.”

  I stared at her name badge, Helen, and the stitching above—Davonport General Hospital—and tried to keep the water down.

  “Do you remember how you were shot?”

  In my head I was moving, running through a crowded forest, slick pine needles moved under my boots as I raced for the compound. Gotta get there first. Gotta make sure they’re safe….gunfire…bastard was waiting…he was waiting for us. Could’ve hit Gunny…if I hadn’t moved. If I hadn’t stepped to the side. Hit my shoulder…right where her head would’ve been. Shot wasn’t for me…if it was, I wouldn’t be here…

  Sniper…had to be.

  I shook my head. “No…don’t remember.”

  “Okay, that’s okay.” She squeezed my shoulder gently. She wasn’t finished. I kept my gaze fixed on the cup in my hand. “Holden, honey. I want to talk to you about the scars on your body.”

  My gut clenched, cold water inched its way into my throat.

  “Do you want to talk about them?”

  Her brown eyes drew me. I
lifted my head. She had nice eyes, kind eyes…eyes that hinted she was older than the fine wrinkles around her eyes. Eyes that would lose that spark of kindness if I told her what she wanted to know. “No.”

  Marine Headquarters was bombed early yesterday morning and now this new evidence…

  “Your extensive military medical history accounts for the trauma you sustained in combat. The shrapnel in your thigh, and the shot in your leg as well as the claw marks on your back. But it’s the other scars I’d like to talk to you about. The ones all over your body…cuts…burns, marks that indicate they’ve been there for a while. I’ve seen marks like that before honey, on abused children.”

  I clenched my jaw, fighting the damn water. Stay down…stay down. Don’t make a fucking fool of myself. Her hand left my shoulder as she moved around the bed.

  Military officials have gone to ground…fearing for their lives.

  “Gunny…Alpha…” I raised my gaze and tried to focus. White walls closed in. They’d be here if they could. They’d never leave me. I closed my eyes and found my breath. Everything waited for me there…in the rise and fall of my chest. In the air that filled me…

  Long strands of silver hair… She waited…in the forest…the woman—no the shifter.

  It’s okay. He’s gone.

  “Holden…honey did you say something?”

  The resonance of my words still tickled my lips. He’s gone…there’s no need to be afraid. My memory was scattered, thoughts slipped through my fingers…but not her…she came to me like a sniper’s shot in the damn shoulder. Long silver hair. Strands from inside the compound. Strands I held in my hand…and those eyes, cold, hard—a hunter’s eyes. No…a survivor’s eyes.

  She stood at the side of a pine, almost hidden in the shadows. If she hadn’t moved, I wouldn’t have seen her—not until it was too late.

  “I’m going to leave you to get some rest.” I flinched at the words and yanked open my eyes. Helen hooked my records on the end of the bed and moved around the side. “I’ll be back to check on you a little later, okay? Now, here’s your button, honey. I want you to press that if you need anything. No getting up…no getting stressed, nurse’s orders.”