Call to War: Hunter Wars Book Six (The Hunter Wars 6)
Page 16
Despite struggling to breathe, Gray laughed cynically. “You’re such an asshole, just being anywhere near you is torture.”
He hated being laughed at and his rage heaved inside him. With a sinister smile, he said, “Tell me what you know.”
“Cut me down and I will.”
Pretending to look sad, he shook his head and said to Hull, “Bring me a hunter.”
Like a puppy happy to be called by its master, a hunter bounded into the garage. It’s lean, tanned and hairless body was quivering with anticipation. Without seeming to be told, it went and stood behind Gray, and casually tore his shirt from his back in one swift ripping motion.
Still facing Gray, he said, “A single hunter can keep you conscious for days, while it eats you piece by piece. They’re quite clever you know. They’re minds aren’t entirely mush, but I’m sure you learned that from your pet hunter.”
Gray eyed him warily. “Lucie’s gone. They took her with them.”
“No doubt,” he replied with a sneer. “They’ve finally understood the hunters still have their souls.” With a reflective look, he added, “The Horsemen have been a little slow catching on, but I suppose none of us fully understood the effects of the hunter virus.”
Still straining under the weight of his own body pulling against his chest, Gray asked breathlessly, “Did you unleash the virus?”
Brightening slightly, he replied, “No, but it was a fine idea.” Feeling the itch in his crotch that never quite went away, he scratched vigorously. “The virus was a probability game. Given enough time, eventually the universe produces something extra good or extra deadly. What do you think killed the dinosaurs?”
“So, you’re just taking advantage of nature’s error?”
“Not an error. It was an inevitability. Given enough time, everything that can happen will happen, and eventually there was going to be a virus that would create the undead.” With a vague wave of his hand, he added, “Of course, it came along a little sooner than I expected. I thought mankind was more likely to kill themselves. Between the nuclear weapons, pollution and poor use of medications, I thought they were doomed one way or another. The virus has worked out well for me, but it was a bit of lottery what would get them first.”
Hanging painfully from the chains, Gray’s breathing was becoming labored. He knew from experience that the man’s discomfort would exponentially increase the longer he hung there. Eventually, even without the added torture of being eaten alive, Gray would be screaming to be released. His arms were already slowly being torn from their sockets and he’d be left permanently crippled.
“So, what did they tell you?”
“They didn’t tell me much. They want to negotiate with you. I think they know they’re screwed and they’re willing to trade.”
Feeling a spark of satisfaction, he asked slyly, “What do they have to trade?”
“The babies.”
“No way,” Hull declared decisively. “They’d never hand ‘em over.”
Gray twisted his head awkwardly to look at Hull. “How would you know? You’ve never even met them. They’re not human like you and me. If they can sacrifice one to save the many, why wouldn’t they?”
The golden star appeared months earlier and its existence still worried him. The other side was conspicuously absent and he was convinced the golden star was theirs. He knew his opposition well enough to know they wouldn’t let him win without a fight. The last golden star that appeared on the landscape of the universe caused him quite some trouble by giving man a sense of purpose and hope. Man killed him by nailing him to a cross, but the impact of that one golden star lived on even today. He remained convinced this golden star was another such gift, which meant another savior was born. He intended to destroy this golden star before it caused him as much trouble as the last one.
Looking over at Hull, he said, “It’s not a baby. It’s a gift from the other side and it can’t be killed, but it can be removed. I need to destroy it before it causes me trouble. God’s last gift really rather set me back.” Returning his gaze to Gray, he asked sternly, “Where do they want to meet?”
Appearing as if he’d lost all hope, Gray hung his head and mumbled guiltily, “The Ranch.”
Gray wasn’t a young man, and between the hard life they now lived and the drugs he liked to take, he wasn’t fit either. He could see Gray was already beginning to tire, and although he wasn’t worried about his health, he wanted him well enough to feel pain.
Smiling benevolently, he said happily, “You’ve displeased me with your trickery.”
Gray’s eyes widened in shock, and he knew the hunter was slowly peeling a wide panel of skin from his back. Using its hardened nails like a blunt blade, the hunter dug deeper into Gray’s muscle, and found a fine strip of bright red, spongy meat on his shoulder. It slowly began to tear the morsel from the muscle around it, and Gray’s blood dripped steadily onto the garage floor. Gray howled and bucked in pain, but being chained meant he had no way to escape the slow torturous drag of flesh peeling down his back. With his head bent back, and his mouth opened wide, he continued to scream relentlessly. His mind began to explore Gray’s, and he could taste the white burn of pain while his brain registered every tiny pop of sinew. The hunter was taking its time and was being careful not to kill its prey. Ah, he thought, as pleasure fired through him, this really is better than sex, and he settled into a familiar, but never boring pattern of enjoyment. Suddenly Gray’s mind went blank, as if a switch was flicked, and their minds were no longer joined.
Grabbing Gray’s jaw, he pulled his head up to look into his pale blue and now lifeless eyes. Stepping back, he turned to Hull in surprise. “Why the fuck is he dead?”
Hull put his fingers to Gray’s neck and checked for a pulse. “I dunno, but he is.”
***
He felt himself drift until he was looking down on the scene in the garage. The hunter was standing behind him, and mindlessly chewing on the strip of flesh it tore from his back. Ruler was shouting at Hull and he had his fingers on the neck of his now abandoned body. Gradually Ruler’s voice faded to nothing, and all he could hear was lilting, soothing music. He glanced around trying to find the source of the melody, and looking above his head, he saw a tunnel of brilliant light that seemed to sparkle with arcs of even whiter light. He knew the sparkling light wanted him, and he felt a gentle tug as if they were welcoming him into their warmth. Feeling no pain, he wondered if he still had a body and looked down at himself. He was naked. Holding his hands in front of his face, the skin on the back of his hands was firm, and his nails were perfectly trimmed. Running his hands over his body, feeling for his old appendix scar, he only found smooth, lean flesh. Feeling safe for the first time he could remember, he thought contentedly, I’m going home.
Looking up at the tunnel of light, he willed himself to go into its brilliance.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: A life worth waiting for (Angel)
She woke gasping for breath, and it felt like a heavy weight was pressing down on her chest. Unable to move, she breathed shallowly trying to draw air into her lungs, but her heart was beating erratically and she knew she was close to blacking out.
From his bed next to hers, Jacob ordered sharply, “Begone, demon! Leave this good woman be.”
Immediately she felt the weight disappear from her chest and she sat up frantically gasping for air. Still feeling panicky, she grabbed at her throat, and tears of relief spilled down her cheeks.
As her heart rate began to settle, she rasped unsteadily, “What was that?”
“The gates to hell are open and the demons and dead are free to roam.”
Gradually calming herself, she looked across at Jacob who was half-sitting up in his bunk bed. “What does that mean?”
“It means the barrier between heaven and hell is breaking. Very soon, there’ll be neither, but the two can’t exist in the same place and all that’ll be left is hell.”
“Is that our future? Being tormented
day and night by ghosts and demons.”
“It’s what happens when hell rules. The Devil takes who he wants and leaves the rest to be terrorized by his underlings.” Sighing, he added, “This is why man should be careful what he wishes for. The Devil is not something to trifle with.”
“I don’t think we wished for this.”
“Some of you have.”
Now her head was clear and her heart rate was calmer, she swung her legs over the side of her bunk bed. “Let’s get you up. We should get moving.”
This was their daily routine. They shared a container with four other people, but she took care of Jacob. Yesterday their fellow bunkmates had been told to report to the Navy submarine base. She wasn’t sure what was going on, but Mackenzie, Nelson and Captain Ted were organizing teams. From the little she was told, they were assembling supplies and equipment for a convoy. She’d hoped Captain Ted would have time for her when he returned from the UK, but she’d barely seen him since he landed. They were slowly getting to know one another, and she missed him when he wasn’t around. Although she knew it was selfish, she wished they could spend some uninterrupted time getting to know one another properly. Still being a virgin, she’d barely ever dated before, and found herself resisting her feelings for him.
Slipping her arm under Jacob’s skinny shoulders, she helped him into his wheelchair by the side of the bed. Noticing how light he felt in her arms, she felt a flutter of worry at his continuing weight loss. Despite her meticulous care, Jacob’s health was deteriorating and she didn’t understand why. She’d asked Terry repeatedly what was wrong with him, but he couldn’t give her an answer. As he rightly pointed out, Jacob shouldn’t even be alive, and asking him to diagnose why a dead man was losing weight was pointless.
Once seated in his wheelchair, Jacob touched her arm lightly. “Don’t worry so much. Everything’ll be fine.”
Looking into his steady brown eyes, she asked, “How do you know that?”
“Because it’s meant to be. You needn’t worry. There’s more going on than you understand, but you have to trust the future will unfold exactly as it should.”
Shaking her head and feeling like she wanted to cry, she asked, “How do you know that the future isn’t one where the Devil’s in control of all of us? It looks like we’ve already lost and the future is now.”
Jacob reached out with both his arms and pulled her into a hug. “Who took away your hope and your trust? Believe me, the universe is smarter than you know. Things always work out exactly as they should, and they will this time too.”
Feeling slightly reassured, they cleaned their teeth, got dressed and gathered the things they would need for the day. Usually other people would help her get Jacob’s wheelchair down the step from the container, but today there seemed to be few people left at the Marine supply base. She used her foot to kick the old-fashioned leather and metal wheelchair down the step, and holding on tightly to the rubber covered handles, it dropped the foot to the ground with a loud thud. If Jacob hadn’t been so seriously underweight, she thought she would have lost control of the wheelchair and sent him tumbling, but he was only a little jarred. Pushing his wheelchair, she headed for the nearest kitchen container, and collected two bowls of porridge and cups of coffee.
She was running late and handed the food to Jacob. “We’ll eat at the hospital.”
This was another of their daily routines. The CDC research lab in Yulee had burned, and although the facility above it was still serviceable, Terry took the decision to convert one of the buildings at the Marine supply base into a hospital. He explained to her the medical staff were now what he called ‘barefoot doctors’, it meant they went to the patients and used whatever means they could to heal them. He said they were running out of medical supplies, and with no means to manufacture more, doctors needed to learn how to treat injuries and illnesses using more basic techniques. Being both an experienced nurse and Jacob’s full-time carer, she worked at the hospital and never left the Marine supply base. The hospital provided the majority of their medical care at the base, and the operating theaters at the CDC were only used when necessary. If there weren’t any operations taking place, then all of the medical staff were travelling around the bases. With so many survivors located across their many bases, it also saved fuel to move the medical staff and not the patients.
Pushing Jacob’s wheelchair, she walked into the two-story building and it was already full of waiting patients. Terry had set up a system where people queued in a large lounge with food and coffee, and next to it, was an even larger room with rows of hospital beds, with a privacy curtain between them. Based on a simple triage approach, patients were assigned to a bed and treated by the doctors and nurses manning the room. Through his strong and open leadership, Terry had broken down the snobbery that existed between doctors and nurses, and patients were treated based on what they needed. With her nursing experience, she now worked as both a nurse and a doctor, and she was enjoying her new responsibilities. She parked Jacob’s wheelchair at the end of the room next to a window, and took her cup of coffee from him.
Sipping her coffee, she looked down the row of already full beds. “It’s going to be a busy day. I wonder what’s going on.”
Jacob got a familiar far-away look in his eyes and said, “A storm is coming.”
Continuing to scan the occupied beds, she said bluntly, “Judging by what I’m seeing, the storm’s already here.”
Shaking his head, Jacob looked up at her. “No, not yet, but this is the start of the end.”
From the moment she’d met him, Jacob made her feel safe, and after months of caring for him day and night, she knew he had a slightly odd view of the world. Smiling warmly at him, she took her bowl of porridge from his lap and went in search of the medical coordinator for the shift. Every shift had someone who helped match patients to skills, and to ensure they stood out, they always wore a bright orange jumpsuit, which she thought made them look like an escaped prisoner. She quickly spotted Terry wearing the orange jumpsuit and walked over to him.
With a wide smile, she said brightly, “You drew the short straw this shift.”
Terry turned at the sound of her voice and smiled back at her. “Hello Angel. We’re in for a busy day, and we haven’t got time for mistakes or training, so I thought I’d be the coordinator.”
She looked around the room again. “What’s going on?”
“Ted briefed me yesterday, and they’re getting ready for a final battle against Ruler. He said to expect injuries while they set up the convoy, and to get our team ready to travel to the Ranch to provide medical support for the battle.” With a quick flick of his hand, he added, “Mostly what we have so far today is torn ligaments and muscle strains, with a few broken limbs and one heart attack.”
She was shocked to hear they were headed into a full-scale battle. “When’s the battle taking place? And why?”
“I don’t think we have a choice, Angel. I saw what happened to Izzie. She was just standing talking to some people, and something nobody could see carved her up. She nearly died of blood loss. And did you hear about the pigs on the main island? They were so badly destroyed, all that was left was mashed flesh and their heads were hanging on the wall of the barn.” Sighing deeply and looking even more worried, he added, “We don’t have a choice, and even if we did, I wouldn’t question Gears. He and his brothers have got us this far, and I don’t doubt their judgement.”
Despite the unreliable communications between the bases, gossip travelled fast, and she’d heard all the stories as well. Knowing Ruler as she did, she supposed a final battle was inevitable. Based on everything she’d witnessed since being held captive by him, she suspected the only way to end his reign of terror was to push back as aggressively as he pushed forward.
With a resigned nod, she asked, “Do you know when we’re going into battle?”
“I understand we have no more than a week to get ready. I was going to brief everyone today.”
Stepping aside to include Jacob in their discussion, Terry said, “I’m sorry, but Angel is an experienced nurse and I need her here.”
Jacob shook his head firmly. “I need to be at the Ranch. I’m needed for the battle.”
Frowning slightly, Terry said gently, “Jacob, maybe you were once a great soldier, but you can’t fight now. You’d be a liability on the battlefield.”
Laughing softly, Jacob replied, “I was never a soldier. Before the virus outbreak, I was a gardener.” Smiling widely, he added with a wink, “I created life.”
“Be that as it may, Jacob, you still can’t fight, and I still need Angel to help me get the medical teams ready, and to provide medical support during the battle.”
“Oh, Angel will be at the Ranch. She has a purpose, but it’s not to care for the living.” Taking her hand, he said, “Angel is here for the Horsemen. It’s her role to raise them.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about, but Angel needs to stay here. I’m sorry, but my responsibilities are to the people and I need all my trained medics to take care of them.”
Refusing to back down, Jacob nodded. “If you don’t understand, then ask Mac.
Giving her an exasperated look, Terry said, “I don’t have time for this.”
She’d heard a rumor there were four babies at the Ranch being cared for by Mom and Pop, and some believed they were destined to replace Gears, Pax, TL and Ip. Jacob always seemed to understand things he shouldn’t. He’d known the infected were dead before anyone else, and he’d known Gears wasn’t ready for a war when he sent the troops to New York. Jacob also survived when he shouldn’t have, and technically he was dead, but this was the first he time he’d ever said her role was to raise the replacement Horsemen. She’d come to accept Jacob was special and he seemed to think she was too.