Merrit hung on as it let go of him and sought to retaliate against its new attacker. Merrit turned and dragged the Weretiger backwards, flipping it onto its side.
Bogdan appeared and jumped onto it, immediately getting thrown off as the cat kicked with its four paws. Shonna appeared as the bear cub flew into the wall. She bit down into one of the paws, cracking bones in the creature’s ankle.
Merrit tried to drag the Weretiger to the side, refusing to let it get its legs underneath itself. Shonna jumped away, then came back for another leg, but the Weretiger was still. She savaged its throat until she was able to grind her way through its neck, severing its head and killing it for all time.
Merrit staggered away, looking at Gene’s still form. Both he and his enemy were on the tunnel floor, each healing slowly from their horrendous wounds. Merrit returned to human form, dug his knife out, and decapitated the Weretiger.
The bleeding from the wounds in Merrit’s back slowed. Instead of using his shirt to bind his own wounds, he bundled it onto the Werebear’s stomach. The Werebear’s intestines had been ripped and were hanging through the tears across his soft mid-section.
Merrit gently pushed Gene’s entrails back in and held them there.
“Go, find the others,” Merrit told Shonna. His head hung and his shoulders slumped in exhaustion. “We both need some time.”
Shonna nuzzled him for a second before changing back into human form, dressing quickly, and running up the tunnel toward the main intersection where she’d last seen the others.
She sensed a human ahead. She was angry that her mate and friend had been injured. She wanted vengeance and ran faster toward the man who seemed to be waiting.
With a pistol in one hand and a knife in the other, she ran past the corner and fired just as she saw that it was Eldie.
***
Terry and Char continued downhill.
“One Forsaken and one Weretiger,” she whispered. Terry thought about telling her that they should simply stay out of Akio’s way, but she seemed determined.
Who was he to deny his wife? And his arm hurt too much to argue. They jogged past two small side tunnels. They looked like test shafts that didn’t pan out. They passed more and more of those as the air became more stale and foul-smelling.
Char slowed, flipping a light switch as they passed. The lights remained on only briefly.
When they turned off, Char cried out, “Watch it!”
Terry instinctively ducked. The darkness in this part of the mine was so complete, he could see nothing, not even his hand in front of his own face. Terry continued downward, hitting the ground and rolling into a half-kneeling crouch. He listened intently, only hearing what he thought was Char scuffling her feet.
She grunted with effort and he took that as his cue, launching himself at full speed toward her. He glanced off something as he reached out, unable to stop himself as he body-slammed into his wife. They both went down, and deftly rolled away from each other.
As Terry started to stand, the hot breath of a Forsaken danced across his neck. Terry lashed out but his hands were beaten back as if he was a petulant child. He brought his knee up, but it was blocked as if he’d jammed it against the mountain’s bedrock. He gasped in pain as a kick with all the force of a pile driver hit him mid-chest.
Terry was thrown into the wall, stunned. Char attacked with all the speed at her enhanced command, and she was still too slow. She matched him blow for blow for three swings only, before he reached inside and caught her cheek with a powerful punch that twisted her head, spinning her to the ground.
The snarl and hiss of a Weretiger came to them as they both lay on the ground. Aaron launched himself through the air, twisting at the last second as he passed over Terry and Char. The Forsaken dodged, but Aaron twirled like a dervish and raked his rear claws across the Vampire’s chest, continuing to spin until his front claws were firmly embedded in the Forsaken’s back.
The Vampire shook off the Weretiger and seemed to speed up, to disappear and then reappeared on Aaron’s other side. He punched the Weretiger once in the top of its head. Aaron’s jaw bounced off the rock floor and he was still.
Just as suddenly, the Forsaken’s head toppled from its body, thudded into the floor, and rolled to rest against the Weretiger.
Akio stood, statuesque as he held his form for an instant, then wiped the blade clean on the Forsaken’s clothes before returning it to the saya.
Akio checked Aaron first, then Terry, and finally Char. They stirred, but didn’t attempt to sit up.
“My apologies, Anjin-san, Charumati-san. The Forsaken used a side tunnel to get past me. You kept him from getting away. Thank you.” Akio bowed his head slightly.
“Any time you need a speed bump on the Forsaken super-highway, I’m your man, Akio-sama,” Terry croaked, closing his eyes, exhausted as his nanocytes rushed around his body and tried to repair the massive amount of damage that had been done.
The sound of pistol fire echoed down the tunnel. Terry lurched upright.
***
Eldie gripped his shoulder where the bullet had torn through. Shonna had raised the pistol just enough to keep from shooting him in the chest. Eldie had ducked at the same time, too.
It had almost been enough.
He lay back on the cool stone and concrete floor. Shonna reached out with her senses and only felt Sue, Timmons, and Clyde heading toward her. Deep down the tunnel before her, she felt Akio, Terry, Char, and Aaron. Everyone but Akio was severely injured.
She inhaled deeply before joining Eldie on the floor and shaking her head.
“You shouldn’t be down here,” she scolded him.
“I realize that,” he moaned, wincing with the pain that throbbed from his shoulder to his whole body. “Now.”
When Sue and Timmons appeared, they asked what happened, but Shonna waved them away. “Gene needs help,” she said, pointing down the tunnel where Gene and Merrit both were.
Bogdan howled from somewhere down that way, and Sue and Timmons took off running with Clyde right on their heels.
***
Akio helped Char to stand, then Terry, and they waited for Aaron to come to. The injured leaned against the wall as Akio stretched out his senses, looking for other dangers. He found a few humans, but they were working the mine and not a threat.
He knew the Werebear was seriously injured, but didn’t share that. It wouldn’t help any of those present to heal. They did not need to run up the tunnel after someone who wouldn’t know what they’d done.
Gene was in a coma as his body struggled to survive.
Aaron looked up at Akio, the Weretiger’s eyes spinning in his head. Akio projected calm into Aaron’s mind and he relaxed.
He changed back into human form, so he could hold his head in his hands.
“It is time to go, Aaron-san,” Akio said calmly in a soft voice. He stood to the side and offered his arm to help Aaron pull himself upright.
When he was standing, as wobbly as it was, the four of them started to climb.
***
North Chicago
Anne cast furtive glances at Adams as they sailed into the lake. Another day, another fishing trip. No matter what else went on, they needed the sustenance that the fish provided.
“South?” she called. No one had a preference, leaving the choice of where they fished to her. She shrugged and spun the wheel to the right, bringing the bow across the wind. The sail snapped tight and she trimmed it, leaning the boat on its side as she raced downwind.
After thirty minutes of hard sailing, she loosened the lines and let the sail ruffle with the wind, greatly slowing the boat.
“I’ll be damned,” she said as they continued to drift southward. Ahead, the boat that they’d seen was at anchor. She tightened the sail and pointed the prow in that direction.
Adams focused all of his attention at the ship, missing his cue to trim the sail. The boat jerked as Anne fought with it. One of the others jumped in to take ov
er. She recovered and they picked up speed quickly.
Adams could feel a Werewolf on board the ship, along with eight humans. Someone yelled from its deck and there was a frenzy of activity as they tried to pull up the anchor.
“Ho there!” Anne called out, hands cupped around her mouth to help her project. “We just want to talk.”
Someone appeared and leaned on the rail. Anne guided the sailboat alongside, bringing the sail down and turning in a tight circle to slow the boat to a near stop.
“Can I help you?” a young man replied, his blond hair and blue eyes clear in the morning sun.
Alex looked sideways at his wife and she waved at him, shaking her head.
“We just wanted to stop by and say hi! We have a nice community where you’re always welcome. There’s no reason to be afraid of us,” she said happily.
Adams cringed, and when he looked up, the Werewolf in human form was staring at him. Adams glared back.
“You look familiar,” the man said, squinting as he looked down. “What is your name?”
“I am Adams, my…” The others didn’t know that Adams was Were. “My leader is Charumati. And who might you be?”
“Charumati? Of the purple eyes? Yes, she is Marcus’s mate. We know Marcus,” the man replied.
“Marcus passed away a few years ago. Char is in charge now,” Adams clarified.
“Billy Spires is the mayor of North Chicago,” Anne offered helpfully.
“I am Jonas,” the Werewolf said, continuing to ignore the human female. “Marcus has passed away? He was the greatest of our kind. I can’t imagine what it would take to fell a glorious creature such as him.”
Adams didn’t respond to the probe. He didn’t trust this Jonas.
“What are you doing here and how did you get this ship up and running?” Adams asked.
“You know, things,” the man evaded. “We have some people here that we fish for. I would love to see Char and catch up.”
“In due time,” Adams replied, shifting on the deck and signaling for Anne to run up the sail. She finally understood that they were speaking a different language, that what she heard didn’t mean what she thought it meant. “Until then, Jonas.”
Adams waved with an exaggerated motion until Anne called for helm’s a lee. Adams ducked to avoid getting hit by the boom, then stood back up and waved again. The sailboat quickly pulled away from the anchored ship on a track to the northeast.
Jonas remained on deck and watched them go.
Adams counted the people in the area. He only felt one Werewolf and the rest were humans, but the numbers were small compared to the population of North Chicago. They could absorb Jonas and his bunch without issue, assuming they were willing to join the party.
The fact that Jonas showed such reverence for Marcus told him that he wasn’t that powerful, not strong enough to defeat Char or Terry Henry Walton. If that was the best they had? This Werewolf and his small posse of humans was no threat, although they’d have to be dealt with, sooner or later.
Because a lone wolf could be dangerous.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Terry, Char, and Aaron staggered up the tunnel as quickly as they could, heading for the sound of the pistol fire. Terry noticed a light switch on the wall and flipped it, hoping that the circuit hadn’t been shut down.
His perseverance was rewarded as the lights came on.
Up ahead, they saw Shonna jogging toward them.
“Report!” Terry called. Shonna looked at him like he had a planetoid growing out of his head.
“Eldie followed us in and got himself shot,” she finally said matter-of-factly.
Terry had no patience for lack of clarity. “Did you shoot him, Shonna?” he asked, looking at her through pain-filled eyes.
“I did,” she said proudly. “But pulled my aim at the last second, enough to just wing him. He should not have been down here.”
“I agree and thank you for not killing him,” Terry sighed. He stumbled up the ramp, holding onto Char, who held onto Aaron. Shonna watched them. “Well?”
“Well what?”
“Aren’t you going to help Aaron or Char? They’re in a pretty bad way,” Terry mumbled.
Shonna worked her way between them and ran her arms beneath theirs and over their shoulders. The new energy helped them stand straighter and walk better. Akio strolled along behind, lost in his own thoughts.
When they made it to the main intersection, Eldie leaned against the wall and moaned softly.
“You gonna be okay?” Terry slurred.
Eldie looked at him, saw the wounds, and struggled to his feet. “Yes, sir. I’ll be just fine,” he said, grimacing.
“Well, Private, what do you say we grab our people and get the hell out of here?” Terry started to perk up as his nanocytes fixed one thing after another and as he got closer to the surface and fresh air. “Let’s call it mission accomplished and go home. Fuck this place. It’s a tomb and we need to fire it, burn it all.”
“I couldn’t agree more, sir,” Leaping Deer replied, wrapping his good arm over Terry’s shoulder and helping them both in the direction that Gene was supposed to be.
They limped and stumbled their way down the side tunnel until they reached the intersection where the others fought the Weretigers. Bogdan keened, because he didn’t understand why his friend wouldn’t wake up. Terry rushed ahead, almost falling in his weakened state. The small lake of blood and ichor on the floor told a tale of a vicious fight where the winner was only slightly less injured than the one who died.
Gene lived, but he was in rough shape and would be for some time to come. Merrit continued to hold pressure on the Werebear’s mid-section, helping keep the wound closed so the nanocytes could do their job.
“How are we going to get him out of here?” Timmons asked.
“I think I have an idea,” Sue replied, her expression determined. “There might be a piece of furniture. Come on, Timmons.”
Sue didn’t wait. She ran for the room where they’d killed the four people. Timmons ran after his mate. She was easy to follow because Clyde brayed as if he were hot on the trail of a deer.
Timmons and Sue returned ten minutes later carrying a couch. Terry narrowed his eyes, not seeing how it would work.
They put the couch next to Gene and with all of them, including Akio, lifting due to lack of leverage, they were able to get the Werebear onto it. Gene overhung all sides, tongue hanging out of his muzzle and arms and legs splayed sideways.
Akio moved to one end, stood with his back to it, and bent down. He grasped the couch and lifted one end of it. Sue, Timmons, and Merrit took the other end and managed to get it off the ground. The other four shuffled along behind as the team started back up the side tunnel on their way to the surface.
Terry worried about getting through the small door, but when they reached the top, they only had to unbolt the wall from one side of the tunnel and it easily swung open. They walked outside into the bright sunshine of the early morning. They’d only been gone for an hour and a half.
Akio led the way, carrying the front of the couch all the way to a pod, where he put the Werebear inside. Those carrying the back half were dogged when they finally made it aboard. Bogdan curled up next to his comatose friend.
Terry was feeling better after sufficient time had passed so that he was mostly recovered from the crushing injuries. He still limped and figured that he would for a few days to come, and his arms remained shredded. He hoped that he wouldn’t have to use his rifle since he wasn’t sure he could hold it steady.
He was a mess, but there was work to do. He gimped his way to the perimeter and looked upon the assembled army. Terry wanted to talk with someone important, so he returned to those under guard, dragging Aaron with him.
“Who here wants to go find the most important person out there and bring that individual to me?” Terry asked. Aaron interpreted.
The prisoners looked at him emotionlessly.
“Fine
,” Terry grumbled. He walked into the group and picked one who looked less beat up than the others. “You, go out there and find me someone important to talk with. I will meet that person outside the wall here. If you don’t return, then I kill the rest of these people and fuck you. We take off and you return to being a rabble. If you do anything we don’t like in the future, we come back and kill all of you. Yes, your whole fucking army. You got that?”
Aaron tried to keep up during the interpretation, but couldn’t. He encapsulated the conversation after Terry finished his diatribe.
The chosen man was led to the perimeter and shown the way through. Once on the other side, he ran as if the hounds of hell nipped at his heels.
“Are we going to kill them?” James asked.
“Of course not,” Terry replied with a half-smile. “We’ll just leave them tied up as we re-board the pods and go on our merry way.”
Mark angled close. He’d seen the group emerge and saw how messed up they all were, including Eldie.
“What happened down there, sir?” he asked.
“Later, Lieutenant. Suffice it to say that they were pretty badass. Thank God for Akio, Gene, Aaron, all of them. They held their own against some really tough creatures,” Terry shared.
“What happened to Eldie?”
“You deal with that, Lieutenant. He followed us in, against orders, and got himself shot because he was where he wasn’t supposed to be,” Terry told him.
Mark nodded and started to salute, caught himself and headed off to give the platoon a frag order—a partial order that they were to prepare to retrograde to the pods for extraction.
Terry went through the thoughts in his head. Classic military speak for stand by to stand by. They’d wait for an interminable amount of time, then they’d have to hurry.
Hurry up and wait.
The order had been given.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Terry put his hands on his hips as he let out a long breath. “I’ll be damned. No balls. I doubt that pack of pantywaists will be taking over the world any time soon.”
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