Day Soldiers (Book 2): Purging Fires

by Brandon Hale

  “Grung.”

  “Thank you,” Talbot said quietly. “Grung, did you kill the werewolf named Daciana?”

  “Yes,” Grung said.

  “Are you absolutely sure?”

  “Yes,” Grung said. “In New York. I took off her head while she was attacking Commander Wallace.”

  “I believe you,” Talbot said. He glanced at one of the other werewolves and said, “Prepare the traitor.”

  “Talbot, no!” Scott yelled as several werewolves circled around him, completely hiding him from the others. A moment later, he began to scream.

  “What are you doing to him!” Lily yelled. She tried to run toward him but two werewolves grabbed her arms, preventing her from moving. Lily looked around frantically to see that other werewolves were now holding Ellie and Carl. Greg was still unconscious.

  “Thank you for your honesty, Grung,” Talbot said. “I’ll keep my promise. Your friends will be set free.”

  Grung looked toward the group surrounding Scott. His screams had become louder and more tortured. “The werewolf is my friend too,” Grung said.

  “He’ll be fine,” Talbot said. “And he’ll be set free as well. Now, just to be clear, I made no promise involving you.”

  “I know,” Grung said stoically.

  “Good,” Talbot said. “You seem like an honorable man, Grung. It eases my heart to know that Daciana was killed by a warrior. It also makes me feel better about what I’m going to do next.”

  “What are you gonna do?” Grung asked.

  “I’m going to give you a great gift,” Talbot said. “Honor demands it.”

  “What gift?”

  Without another word, Talbot sank his claws into Grung’s chest and ripped out his heart.

  “GRUNG!” Lily tried to break free of the werewolves holding her, but couldn’t.

  Ellie thrashed wildly, but the werewolves held her in place as well.

  Carl just stared silently with a look of total despair in his eyes.

  As Grung’s lifeless body fell to the ground, Talbot swallowed his heart in one gulp.

  He looked at the werewolves surrounding Scott and said, “Move fast. We don’t have much time.” He then turned to the werewolves holding Lily, Ellie, and Carl and said, “Take all their weapons and carry them a few miles down the road, then let them go. And don’t forget sleeping beauty over there.”

  “What about Scott?” Lily said frantically. “You promised you’d let him go too.”

  “I will,” Talbot said. “When we’re done with him.”

  “I’m going to kill you,” Ellie said.

  Lily looked at Ellie and saw something very familiar. She saw herself on the day Dennis killed her parents.

  “No, you’re not,” Talbot said. He looked at another werewolf and said, “Get them out of here. We’ve got things to do.”

  The werewolves ran with dizzying speed. One werewolf carried Lily on its shoulder, which prevented her from seeing anything but the road zipping by beneath its feet.

  After at least two hours of running, the werewolves finally stopped. They placed the team on the ground, then one of the werewolves took female human form and said, “Talbot kept his word. You’re free to go. If you try to come back, there’s nothing to stop him from killing you.”

  Lily looked around and saw only road and desert. “If you leave us here, we’ll die.”

  “Not our problem,” woman said as she began to change back into a wolf. “Talbot made no promises about helping you survive on your own.”

  A moment later, the werewolves were gone.

  “We’re going back, right?” Carl said.

  “Of course we’re going back,” Ellie said. She looked at Lily. “Right?”

  “Right,” Lily said. “Those werewolves were moving fast. It’ll probably take us a few days to get there, but of course we’re going back.”

  Greg, who had regained consciousness on the road, said, “Can someone fill me in on what happened back there?”

  “A werewolf tore out Grung’s heart and ate it,” Ellie said.

  Greg stared at her for a moment, then said, “Are you serious?”

  “And they captured Scott,” Carl said. “They’re probably still torturing him.”

  “What are they doing to him?” Greg asked.

  “We couldn’t see him,” Carl said, “but it sounded bad.”

  “My God,” Greg whispered.

  Carl looked over Lily’s shoulder and an expression of worry fell onto his face. “Uh, guys, why are the werewolves coming back?”

  Lily turned around and saw the four werewolves sprinting back toward them. Her eyes widened when she saw what looked like thousands of other werewolves running behind them.

  “They figured out who Lily is,” Ellie said with a hint of panic in her voice. “They’re coming to take her to the vamps.”

  “Why would they need that many werewolves for Lily?” Greg said.

  “Because I’m a badass,” Lily said.

  “Brace yourselves,” Carl said. “This is going to be bad.”

  “I don’t think those werewolves are following them,” Ellie said. “They’re chasing them.”

  Lily looked at the four werewolves in the lead and realized that Ellie was right. The werewolves kept looking back at the other animals. There was a frenzied panic in the way they moved.

  When Lily saw the backpacks on some of the pursuing wolves, her heart soared. “Stop them!” she screamed as she ran toward the wolf in the front.

  The other team members followed her, each targeting a different wolf.

  Lily reached out and tried to grab the first wolf, but she made no contact. It easily leapt over her and continued running. The other team members had the same result.

  “Well,” Carl yelled as the horde of pursuing wolves ran around them, “that was a big whopping failure.”

  “No, it wasn’t,” Lily said. “Watch.”

  The split second it took the wolves to dodge Lily and her teammates was enough time for the pursuing wolves to catch them. Within a second, the four fleeing wolves were overcome by the others.

  Lily looked at Carl and smiled. “Every second counts, my friend.”

  “You consider me a friend?”

  “Figure of speech,” Lily said as she ran toward the giant crowd of werewolves.

  Several of the backpack-werewolves glanced back and Lily and the others, but most were focused on whatever was happening in the center of the crowd.

  Lily and her team walked through the ocean of wolves, making their way to the center.

  “They stink up close,” Carl whispered as he looked at the giant creatures around him.

  One of the wolves looked down at him and growled.

  “They’ve been running around in nature for weeks,” Lily said. “You’d stink too.”

  “I’m feeling stupid right now,” Greg said as he squeezed between two wolves, “because I have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on here.”

  “They’re wearing backpacks,” Lily said.

  “Okay.”

  “They’re Day Soldiers, dumbass,” Lily said. “These are the guys that went with Wallace.”

  Greg yelped as one of the wolves reached down and pinched him on the butt. He looked up and saw the giant black beast wink at him.

  As the team worked their way to the center of the crowd, Lily noticed that several of the wolves were now in human form. She recognized one of them.

  “Reagan!” Lily yelled.

  Reagan looked back at her and smiled. She was naked except for the backpack and the gun she held in her right hand. “You have no idea how shocked I am to see you here.”

  “Likewise,” Lily said as she stepped beside Reagan. “I hope we helped.”

  “Totally,” Reagan said. “We’d have been chasing these guys for miles if you hadn’t slowed them down.”

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Lily asked.

  “We’re tracking down a very powerful werewolf,
” Reagan said. “And we think these guys will help us find him. Come on.”

  As the team followed Reagan to the center of the crowd, Ellie said, “Do you mean Talbot?”

  Reagan stopped and turned around. “You’ve seen Talbot?”

  “You could say that,” Carl said.

  “He killed Grung,” Ellie said.

  “And captured Scott,” Lily added.

  Reagan’s face softened. “I’m sorry.”

  “I have to kill him, Reagan,” Ellie said. “I have to.”

  Reagan just looked at her for a moment with sad eyes, then turned around and continued toward the crowd’s center.

  They finally made it to the clearing in the middle and saw the four original werewolves – now in human form – on their knees. Wallace paced back and forth in front of them. He was holding a pistol.

  “I don’t have time to do this the slow way,” Wallace said as he pressed the gun barrel against the forehead of one of the prisoners. “You can all live if you just take me to Talbot. Don’t test me on this. I have no desire to kill you, but this is war.”

  “You won’t kill us,” the prisoner said. “You’re a soldier, not a murderer.”

  Wallace pulled the trigger and the werewolf fell to the ground, dead. He stepped down to the second prisoner and placed the gun against her head. Lily recognized her as the one who spoke to them earlier. “This is war,” Wallace said again. “I chose my side. Your lives mean less to me than the survival of humanity.”

  “What happened to you, Wallace?” the woman said. “You used to be one of us.”

  Wallace pulled the trigger and stepped to the next prisoner. “I was never one of you.”

  Lily understood that these werewolves were enemies. She understood that they had just helped murder Grung. Despite that knowledge, seeing Wallace kill them made her feel sick. She wasn’t sure why.

  “I’ll find Talbot with or without you,” Wallace said to the third prisoner. “Are you prepared to die for nothing?”

  “He’s in the mountains to the north,” the man said.

  “Nick, shut up!” the fourth prisoner screamed.

  Wallace pointed the gun at her and fired. She fell to the ground, dead. He turned the gun back to the third prisoner. “Go on, Nick.”

  “There’s a deserted ski resort in the mountains,” the prisoner continued. “Whenever we gather, we gather there.”

  “Is Talbot there now?” Wallace asked.

  The man glanced at Lily, who was standing behind Wallace. “If he’s not there yet, he will be soon.”

  Wallace turned around and looked at Lily and her team. “He took a prisoner?”

  “Scott,” Lily said.

  Wallace turned back to Nick. “If you take us to this resort, we’ll let you go before we enter. Talbot doesn’t have to know you told us.”

  “I’d rather join you,” the man said. “Talbot will know. He’s no fool. Besides, I won’t lie to him. He is my general.”

  Reagan stepped forward and said, “You won’t lie to your general, but you’ll betray him just to save your own hide. Nice morals, there.”

  “I didn’t betray him to save myself,” the man said. “I do not fear death. I betrayed him because I can see the truth.”

  “What truth is that?” Wallace sneered.

  “That you are my new general,” the man answered. “Talbot’s time has passed. He will fall to you. I can see it in your eyes.”

  Wallace looked at one of the other werewolves and said, “Take him away. We’ll head out shortly.” As he walked toward Lily, a smile crept onto his face. “Kid, I never in a million years would have expected to run into you out here in the middle of nowhere.”

  “I think they’re the reason we’re here,” Reagan said. She looked at Lily. “We came because we smelled smoke. We were in the area, searching, and we hoped the smoke was a zealot signal fire.”

  “That’s exactly what it was,” Lily said. She turned to Wallace, “Sir, they have Scott.”

  “And they killed Grung,” Ellie added.

  “My God,” Wallace said. “I’m so sorry, kid.”

  “Sir,” Ellie said, “I have to kill that monster.”

  Wallace put his hand on her shoulder, “I’m afraid that can’t happen this time. I have to be the one to take down Talbot.”

  “Sir,” Lily said, “you’ve told me before that revenge is a great motivator—”

  “I’m sorry, Baxter,” Wallace said. “This is the first time the werewolves and vampires have lived separately since the war began. It’s our only chance to get the werewolves out of this war, and the only way that can happen is if I face Talbot.”

  “I understand, sir,” Ellie said. Her voice was frail.

  “He saved us all,” Lily said. Everyone understood she was talking about Grung. “He was the best soldier I’ve ever known.”

  Ellie gave a single nod. “He was my best friend.”

  “He will be avenged,” Wallace said. “You have my word.”

  Tears began to trickle down Ellie’s face. “He deserved better than to have his heart eaten by that monster.”

  “What?” Wallace and Reagan said at the same time.

  “Talbot,” Lily explained. “He tore out Grung’s heart and ate it.”

  “What about Scott?” Wallace said. “This is very important, Baxter. What did they do to Scott?”

  “We’re not sure,” Lily said. “We couldn’t see, but it sounded like they were torturing him. It was awful, sir.”

  Wallace looked at Reagan and said, “Get these kids enough supplies to survive their trip out of the desert. And get them some weapons. Guns, stakes, crossbows, whatever we have.”

  “What are you talking about, sir?” Lily said. “We’re coming with you.”

  “No, you’re not,” Wallace said. “You have your own mission. Get to Arizona.”

  “Our mission,” Lily said, “was to get Scott to Arizona. Talbot has Scott.”

  “Either way,” Wallace said, “you’re not coming with us. We don’t have time to babysit you across New Mexico.”

  “Babysit?” Lily wasn’t just angry. She was furious. “All due respect, sir, but my team has accomplished more than any other team of sneakers in the history of the—”

  “Shut up, Lily,” Wallace said. “We’re leaving as soon as we get you some supplies. And we’ll be moving too fast for you to keep up. Deal with it.”

  Reagan returned with several backpacks on her shoulders. She dropped them on the ground, then looked at Wallace and said, “That should be enough to get them somewhere safe. You ready?”

  “Let’s go,” Wallace said.

  “This is bullshit,” Lily said. “There’s over a thousand werewolves here. Some of them can carry us. We deserve to go with you.”

  Wallace spun around and snarled, “Do you want us to save Grung or not!”

  Lily felt like she’d be punched in the face.

  “Grung’s dead,” Ellie said. “We watched him die.”

  “He’s probably alive, Ellie,” Wallace said. “But I promise you, if we don’t get there as quickly as possible, he’ll be dead soon.”

  “That’s not possible,” Carl said.

  Reagan closed her eyes and chuckled. “Kid, you live in a world where vampires and werewolves have declared full scale war on the human race. Do you seriously think you have any idea about what’s possible and what isn’t?”

  “Let’s go,” Wallace said to Reagan. To Lily, he added, “Baxter, I’ll explain everything after this is over. I promise. But for now, you just have to trust me.”

  “I trust you, sir,” Lily said. The news about Grung had changed everything. “Go. We’ll be fine.”

  A minute later, all the wolves were gone. Lily and the team stood in the road, watching the cloud of dust trailing the army of werewolves.

  “He’s alive,” Ellie whispered. “How is that possible?”

  “I think it has something to do with Scott,” Lily said. “Wallace seemed obs
essed with knowing what they did to Scott.”

  Greg looked at the sky. “It’s getting dark. We camping here?”

  “I’m not tired,” Lily said. “I’m fine with moving on if you guys are good with it.”

  “One question,” Carl said. “How are we going to deal with that vampire when he comes back?”

  Everyone turned and looked at Carl. Lily looked at the darkening sky. She had completely forgotten about Travis.

  “This mission sucks,” She said.

  Chapter 19

  Honor

  Grung woke to no pain. As a matter of fact, he felt great. His last memory was of Talbot spitting out pieces of his rib cage, which made the fact that he felt great even more confusing.

  As soon as Grung realized that he was lying in a bed, he opened his eyes and looked around. The room was small. It had two beds, a small table, and a TV. He was in a motel room. There were two doors in the room, one in the front and one in the back. Grung assumed one went outside and the other led to the bathroom.

  He scratched an itch on his left hand as he climbed from the bed. “I’m starved,” he said to himself as he looked around the room again, this time searching for a refrigerator.

  Grung’s search for food suddenly ended when he realized he was scratching an itch on his left hand.

  I don’t have a left hand.

  He lifted his left arm and saw that his sword was gone.

  His hand was back.

  He slowly touched each finger with his thumb, then shook his entire hand. It wasn’t some artificial limb. His hand had somehow grown back.

  He looked down at his chest. He wasn’t wearing a shirt and could see that he had no scars. Not even a scratch.

  “Okay,” he said, “I feel great. All my wounds are gone. I have my hand back.” He walked across the room and looked at himself in the mirror. “I’m dead. That’s the only explanation. I’m dead and this place is some kind of weird purgatory.”

  He heard the door open behind him and turned around to see Scott step from the bathroom. “Hey, Scott,” he said. “You’re dead too?”