by Patti Larsen
The man nods once, sharply. “So you think he’ll be coming here?”
Reid frowns. “Pretty sure. I’m surprised you’re looking for him. Since you know him so well.”
Aberdeen frowns. “I’ve never met the scum in my life.”
Reid exchanges a look with Marcus. “He told us he knew you. That he was the reason we were able to escape, that he alerted you.”
The general snaps his fingers and one of his soldiers drops a familiar hand held device on him. “Brackett’s aide called for back up, leading us to the enclosure. An anonymous tip led us to the prison after you were already gone. This GPS,” he holds it up, “did the rest when we finally figured it out.”
Reid wants to scream. He’s been played yet again. And when he knew better than to trust Syracuse. He was right. The only reason the man rescued them was to make them his personal hit squad.
“What happened to Colonel Brackett?” Marcus’s voice is soft.
“Dead.” They knew that already. “Not that it changes anything. He would have faced court martial.” Aberdeen’s eyes travel over Marcus’s face like he’s only now recognizing him. “He had a son,” the man says. “About your age. Hispanic.”
Marcus just nods. Reid sees the momentary shudder pass over Aberdeen’s face, the brief, fleeting touch of pity and loathing. But for whom?
Marcus meanwhile, just twitches at every word, as if the general is hitting him over and over again.
Reid recognizes the fury in his friend and cuts him off before Marcus can speak.
“Now what happens?” He’d really like to know anyway, so the question serves two purposes. Three, really. He needs to understand the general. If they are enemies. Or if there is a chance they could ever be allies. Not that Reid’s holding his breath. But Aberdeen’s flicker of humanity at least gives him a little hope.
“You will be detained and questioned,” Aberdeen says, all professional again, “before being imprisoned for the rest of your lives. If you’re not executed as dangerous terrorists threatening the US government.”
Terrorists. It’s too much. Reid’s been hunted and shot at, died once and been brought back to life. Lost friends and the girl he cares about while being forced to kill.
“We’re just kids.” He didn’t mean to speak up. Or expect the response he got. Aberdeen’s whole body jerks, as though startled. He clears his throat and when he speaks, the words are thick and heavy.
“I know, son,” he says, very softly, as though he hates for his men to hear. “But it’s not my decision.”
This time it’s Marcus’s turn to distract.
“Then whose is it?”
Aberdeen takes a small step away, green eyes not so cold anymore.
“I’m sorry,” he says. Reid’s thin strand of hope snaps and recoils.
“Screw you.” Marcus spits at the man’s feet.
Reid instantly feels better.
They are herded to their friends who are again hunkered down on their cots. But when they try to talk they are jabbed painfully with rifle butts until they fall silent.
Emme glares at Reid like it’s all his fault. He can’t argue with her there.
Reid can hear Aberdeen on his radio, calling for transport. This is the end for them. They will be stuffed into some hole far from civilization, constantly tested, then either locked away forever or killed. The future looks very bleak and he has only himself to blame.
He can’t even explain to his friends he’s sorry he failed them. And will never get the chance to tell Leila how he feels.
It’s enough he almost charges one of the soldiers just to end it all.
Drew’s hand reaches out, squeezes his. Minnie’s soft head lands in his lap. A fat tear trickles down, lands on her nose. She licks it away with a soft whine.
Reid strokes her ears, despair finally winning.
He is so wrapped up in feeling sorry for himself, he almost doesn’t notice when her head lifts, ears cocked toward the back wall of the warehouse.
Just before a massive explosion sends it flying inward.
***
Chapter Nineteen
Reid is already moving before the shockwave hits, dragging himself and Drew under the line of bunks. It doesn’t offer much in the way of protection, but they are far enough from the center of the blast that the thin mattresses absorb the bulk of the impact.
They’ve all survived it, he sees, grateful for their changes, the speed of their reflexes. He doesn’t hesitate, already up and running toward the gap in the rear of the building.
No matter what is coming through it toward him, Reid knows it’s their best shot at escape.
Reid hears muffled shouting from behind him, glances over his shoulder. Rhymer’s mercenaries are fighting back as the startled soldiers try to understand what is happening. Rhymer’s face is bright red, his eyes fixed on Reid. This time Reid doesn’t hold back.
As he runs, he shoots the man his middle finger.
It’s almost too much of a distraction but he can’t resist. By then, black-clad mercenaries are rushing through the smoking hole, rifles firing into the line of Aberdeen’s soldiers who struggle to rally against them. Reid hears the general yelling over the noise, but barely. His ears still ring from the explosion, the shots around him sounding like the pop of a cap gun. He feels his friends surround him as he makes a dash for freedom.
A mercenary swivels, his gun focused on Reid. The weapon swings back. Perfect. He now knows who sent these men. It has to be Dr. Lund. Not one to miss a fight, chances are she’s with them.
Reid can’t worry about her right now. He sidesteps the mercenary who lets him pass. So she wants them to escape. Good enough. But he’ll be damned if he runs right into the trap he’s sure she’s set for him on the other side of the line of fire.
Reid pauses only long enough to turn to his friends and shout, “Stay together,” before dashing through the still smoking hole and into what is left of the night.
He knows Joel and his friends are there before he sees them. This then is the cage she’s created. Reid snarls and attacks before the others have a chance to.
He collides full on with one of his old pack, with only a moment to bless his luck. She hasn’t given them more dust. They are still in human form. The guy’s eyes are clear and very human. Reid slams both fists into the guy’s chest, sending him crumpling to the ground, gasping for air. A blow with one foot snaps his jaw and his neck. He hisses into a glittering pile. But there is no time to gather the dust.
Reid keeps running. He can see the edge of a forest up ahead, smell the familiar scent of pine and earth. Suddenly he is seized by the absolute need to make it to the trees, to hide there forever.
“Reid!”
He turns at the sound of Marcus’s shout, just in time to dodge a shot aimed at his back. Reid leaps up and spins in mid air, feet lashing out as his attacker surges forward into his reach, finger on the trigger.
Rhymer. Reid’s feet drive into the man’s stomach, sending him backward, stolen gun flying from his hand. Before Reid can finish the job, one of Lund’s mercenaries puts a bullet in the commander’s throat.
She can’t be too happy about the man’s duplicity. Still, Reid and her hired guns won’t be on the same side for long. He turns to run again just as the same mercenary dives toward him, tackling Reid’s legs. Truce ended, he figures. Minnie is instantly in his face, snarling and snapping while Reid lashes out with both feet, taking the soldier directly in the face. Reid feels as much as hears the bones crunching, slivers driving upward and into the man’s brain.
He is back on his feet, moving ahead. A flicker to his left turns out to be Drew, taking down one of Dr. Lund’s creatures with a savage blow from a large rock. The other boy is gone in a rain of powder.
On Reid’s right, Sarah and Nishka tag-team another mercenary, Nishka’s fist hammering into his gut while Sarah delivers a solid kick to the side of his face. They too run on.
All around him he hears the scr
eams of battle. He takes out another of the enemy pack without thought or remorse when the girl leaps for him from behind a parked car. He body slams her over the trunk, his elbow driving so hard into her sternum it bends in half, killing her instantly. The dust that makes her up dissipates in the rising wind, a hint of it making it up Reid’s nostrils and sending a thrill through his blood.
He risks a glance over his shoulder. The warehouse is on fire, men fighting, guns spitting bullets in sharp relief against the glow of the flames. It makes him pause a moment, remembering another scene, a flashback to the past, when the hunters burned the kid’s refuge and celebrated before the fire by eating the dead.
Reid shakes himself and turns his back on the battle. Three more running steps and he is inside the line of trees.
Nothing has ever felt more like home. He instantly absorbs the quiet, his focus more intense. His hyper senses are so finely tuned to the forest he can hear the rustle of hiding rabbits, see clearly the hunched form of an owl hunting prey, taste blood and death as it wafts toward him, filtered through the leaves and pine needles.
“Reid.” Drew halts beside him. “What now?”
They gather around him, watching the fight as it drifts toward them. Emme points at a small group of soldiers as they break off, heading their way. Reid nods to her. He knows Dr. Lund must be here too, hiding in the woods, waiting for them.
“We run,” he says, “like they taught us.”
“I’m tired of holding back.” Marcus spits to the side, his anger simmering in his eyes. “Tired of being controlled and told what to do.”
Sarah fist bumps him while even Cole looks ready to kill.
This is what they have become. And Reid refuses to feel guilty about it.
“Kill everything that gets in our way.”
Milo looks so fierce Reid almost laughs. “Even Dr. Lund?”
Reid exchanges a look with Drew who shrugs. “She knows how to make dust,” he says. “As far as we know, she’s the only one. If we want more, we have to keep her alive.”
The others groan but Reid’s smile is dangerous. “Screw the dust,” he says. “We kill her too.”
Drew is the first to agree.
Reid feels around, locates the few others of the pack who hunt them. They are coming closer, but there is still plenty of time. As soon as they start to run, no one will ever catch them.
“Be careful. The rest are out there. Take them down if you get the chance but focus on escape. Understood?” He looks directly at Sarah and Nishka. Both are scowling in rebellion.
“Understood.” Kieran gives them both a little shove and they finally nod.
The soldiers are almost to the tree line.
“Let’s go.” As much as Reid would like to deal with all of his opponents right now, he has to listen to his own advice. Getting away is more important that revenge.
There will be time to hunt when they are safe.
They run together, smooth and tireless. Reid wants to shout out his joy. This is how it is supposed to be. How the change was meant to feel. He almost forgets the danger they are in, the slim chance of their escape, because of the pure ecstasy of the pack.
He feels her ahead and slows. They others must too because they flow to a halt around him. Just beyond a small clump of undergrowth she waits for them.
And Dr. Lund is not alone.
Joel stands with her. But he isn’t himself, really. He is a hunter, full of dust. But he has gone farther than any other Reid has ever seen. His face is compressed, mouth and nose elongated into the parody of a muzzle. His hands are all claws, ten deadly blades, longer and thicker than ever. And his skin, so ghostly pale, carries a hint of hair, as though he is being transformed into some sort of animal.
Beside him stands the doctor. And in her grip, trembling and pale, is Leila.
Reid’s heart slams into his ribs once, twice before settling again. His whole body flushes, sharp tingles seizing his limbs, haze clouding his peripheral vision as his forward focus sharpens to a razor’s edge.
“Let her go.” Reid is already moving forward, a juggernaut of rage. Dr. Lund’s right hand lifts, a knife to Leila’s throat.
“One slice and it’s all over for her.” Her mad amber eyes almost glow in the darkness. “Do it, Reid. Push me. You know I’ll kill her.”
He forces himself to stop. “What do you want?”
Her smile is angelic. “You, silly. I thought that much was obvious by now.” She looks at his friends. “I’m recruiting again,” she says, sing song voice making her sound very young. “Last chance to rejoin the family.”
Reid isn’t surprised when Emme steps forward, Nathan at her side. Sad but not surprised.
Emme glances at him sideways, not quite meeting his eyes while the rest of his friends groan at her defection.
“It’s no good, Reid,” she says. “If the soldiers don’t get us, Syracuse will. Dr. Lund is all we have. And I’m tired of running.” Emme tries a little smile for the doctor. “I’m so sorry. Can you ever forgive me?”
Dr Lund laughs. “Of course, dear. Both of you. Your destiny awaits.”
Emme’s relief is clear as she surges forward to take her place next to Joel.
Nathan hesitates. Looks at Reid.
“I have to,” he says. “For her. You understand?”
Reid does. Lets Nathan see it in his face. He nods and goes to join Emme.
“Anyone else?” Dr. Lund’s eyes flicker from face to face. “No takers?”
The members of the pack stick together and hold their ground.
“Guess not,” Reid says. “Too bad.”
Dr. Lund’s golden eyes return to him. “No matter. They weren’t what I was after in the first place.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Reid glances at Leila. She is staring right at him as if trying to tell him something.
“You, Reid. I want you.”
Reid shakes his head. Sees the tiny movement as Leila’s eyes shift to the right, her fist flexing under the grip of the doctor. She’s ready to move. He has to be too.
“Go to hell.” He’s pretty sure, if there is one, he’ll be following her there someday.
She just giggles. “Don’t be a fool. I intend to live forever.”
Reid is already moving when Leila twists her arm and drops her head sideways, but Dr. Lund is faster, stronger than Reid remembers and the escape attempt fails before it began.
No one told Minnie. She leaps forward, tackles Joel, her sharp teeth clamping on his cheek. He slashes sideways, claws taking her across the side. She howls in agony, flying free of him from the force of the blow, landing with a heavy thud on the ground where she lies still.
Reid’s heart explodes outward, his fury for the injured dog stronger than anything he’s felt before. He spins to lunge at Joel when Leila’s cry of pain breaks his focus.
Blood runs down her neck into the rim of her white t-shirt. She is shaking, tears in her eyes. The knife hovers, ready to finish the girl while Dr. Lund grins at Reid.
“A shame. But I’d hate to add another death to your body count.” She looks past him at the rest of the pack. “You’re all free to go, by the way.” She waves the knife at them in dismissal. “Couldn’t care less. That’s right,” she nods at the growing understanding in Reid’s eyes. “I don’t want them. Just you and her.” She pokes Leila with the knifepoint, drawing another bead of blood. “The rest are on their own.”
He doesn’t believe her. But as the remains of her pack, only two of them left, ooze out of the dark behind her, they make no threats toward Reid’s friends. They simply stand there with Joel, Emme and Nathan and wait.
“You can’t do this.” Drew is at Reid’s side, pulling on his arm, trying to get his attention.
“It means you’re free,” Reid says, eyes never leaving Leila. “We’ll find a way out. But I’ll feel better about it if you just go.”
“Reid,” Marcus hisses in his ear. “You know she won’t hold up her end.”
“You make sure you get the rest of them as far from here as you can. Kieran.” The tall, slim guy joins them. “You, Marcus and Drew are a team, now. Take care of the others. Keep them safe. Find a place to hide. Disable that damned GPS. When Leila and I escape, we’ll come find you.”
Hands grab at him, try to pull him back. Someone hugs him from behind and he only peripherally realizes it’s Nishka. Then he is walking forward, but not toward Lund. Not yet. Instead, he goes to the side of his dear fallen friend. Before he can move on, he has to see Minnie.
Her glossy coat is wet with blood. He can smell it on her, even as his grief eases a little. Still alive, Minnie lift her head, whines softly at him, heavy tail thumping once, twice on the ground before falling still. A great and horrible anger grows inside him. So much loss, so much has been torn from him. His old life. The kids he’s tried very hard to protect. His sister, no sister of his any longer. And, at times, his humanity.
All of it he has learned to live with. But this. This goes beyond the edge of reason and into the howling crazy place where his heart shatters and reforms with every breath she heaves, only to shatter again at the fall of her ribcage.
It is worse, because of any of them, she had the least choice of all and, in the end, was the most brave.
He feels Drew beside him and is glad. He can’t bear to leave Minnie behind, but he has no choice. Part of him wants to stay, to stroke her fur and see her on. The other part is desperate to run again. This loss is unbearable.
And there is nothing he can do for her now.
Reid gets up, turns away. Covers the distance between himself and his fate with slow, steady steps. He stops in front of the doctor, sees Leila’s face is sheathed in tears. She manages to smile at him a little. Reid glares at Dr. Lund.
“You’d better keep your promise,” he leans forward to whisper in her ear. “If I find out anything happened to them, I’ll kill you.”
“Oh, darling,” she whispers back, “welcome home.”
He feels the familiar bite of a syringe and lets the darkness take him.
