Snake Charmer (Shifter Squad Book 6)

by J. C. Diem

  Kala nudged Mark in the side and pointed at a snake that was slithering its way through the darkness towards us. From the odd way it was moving, it had to be a Sidewinder. Mark squinted, but he couldn’t make out the rattlesnake yet. He drew a sharp breath when it finally came close enough for him to see it.

  Now that I knew it was within range of human eyes, I brought it to our allies’ attention. “Cortez,” I said loudly enough for him to look around. “Can you take out that snake?”

  He gestured to one of the men and they knelt in front of him. He rested his rifle on the agent’s shoulder and the man covered his ears to protect his eardrums. Sighting on the target, Cortez pulled the trigger. The snake’s head exploded in a wash of blood.

  “I see more of them,” Kala warned us. The others peered at the darkness, but they could only dimly see the dozens of reptiles that were congregating on the building.

  “We need to get inside before we’re overrun,” Mark said to Kendricks.

  The squad leader motioned for one of his other men to come forward. He fiddled with the scanner on the wall and the door clicked open. A couple of his agents remained outside, but they moved away from the door where most of the snakes were heading. Mark didn’t ask any questions, but I was curious about why they weren’t coming with us. We had no way of knowing how many guards were inside. It seemed more important for us to stick together rather than to split up.

  The alarm continued to blare as we walked down a long hallway that was devoid of decorations. Doors branched off on both sides until the hallway took a turn to the right. The floor was covered in white tiles that matched the walls and ceiling. It was sterile and boring, yet somehow sinister. I kept my gun pointed at the floor out of habit, as did most of the other agents. A few opted to aim at the ceiling instead. We’d all been taught not to point our weapons at someone unless we were going to pull the trigger.

  We made our way down the hall, pausing to wait for Kendricks’ men to kick each door open. Most of the rooms were offices. None were occupied. Being nighttime, it seemed that everyone except the guards had gone home for the day.

  That thought was proven wrong a moment later when a man hurried around the corner. Dressed in a white lab coat, he carried an armful of files. He looked up, saw us and stopped dead. One of Kendricks’ men gunned him down before he could flee. Two agents dragged him into the nearest room while another one picked up the files. He tossed them through the door without bothering to see what they contained.

  Bright red blood stained the once pristine tiles. We stepped over the splatter marks and continued on. Mark shot a look at me and I shook my head. Our link was too faint for me to be able to pinpoint his exact location, but I could tell that Flynn wasn’t anywhere nearby.

  Mark kept us towards the back of the group as they renewed their search. We were happy to let the O Squad handle cutting down unarmed civilians and the few armed guards who remained. I didn’t feel anything when I saw more EERI employees die. These were the same type of people who had kidnapped two toddlers and had turned them into shifters. They’d scarred Flynn when he’d still been little more than a baby just so they could see if he’d heal when he shifted for the first time. They could all rot in hell for what they’d done to my friends as far as I was concerned.

  Hearing booted footsteps approaching even with the alarm sounding, Kala and I took up a defensive stance in front of Mark. Seconds later, a contingent of guards rounded the next hallway. We took them down with the help of the O Squad. One of the agents grinned at Kala and she preened beneath his attention. Kendricks slanted his man a look and his grin instantly dropped away.

  Again, the dead were cleared out of the way. I assumed this was so we could make a quick getaway if we had to. Kala and I helped to drag the bodies aside. We could have two men apiece over our shoulders, but instead worked together to drag the corpses away one by one until the hall was clear.

  The EERI guards might have had some training, but they were no match for our skills. The PIA had put a lot of money into training and outfitting their employees.

  Kendricks signaled for his men to get moving again and we fell in behind them. We rounded the corner and encountered another long hallway ahead. It took time to search every room, but we finally came to a T junction.

  Mark paused to study a map on the wall. “It looks like there are just offices up on this level,” he said and pointed at the only elevator on the map. “There’s another two levels below us. No doubt the labs and Flynn will be down there somewhere.”

  Kendricks wasn’t surprised by the knowledge that there were more levels. He drew his remaining seventeen men together to issue orders. “You, find the alarm and shut it down,” he commanded and pointed at one of his men. “The rest of you, pair up and search the rest of this floor.” He turned to us as his men took off at a fast jog. “We can take care of anyone who is left on this level. It shouldn’t take us long to clear them out. Wait for us here.”

  Mark waited for him to disappear around another corner before he motioned us to follow him. “Now is our chance to find Flynn.” He set a fast pace as he headed deeper into the warren of corridors.

  Following the directions from the map, we found the elevator. The alarm abruptly shut off as Kala darted over and pushed the call button. The quiet was almost spooky in comparison to the blaring alarm. The doors opened immediately and we entered. She looked at our boss for instructions. “Head for the lowest floor,” he told her. “That’s usually where they keep the specimens.” His lips twisted as he used that description. For reasons that were still unknown to us, Flynn had become one of their captives.

  Kala sent me a bleak glance then pushed the button for the lowest level. The bland elevator music we were subjected to during the ride did nothing at all to soothe our nerves. Just before our ride came to a stop, we shifted our guns from pointing at the floor to aiming straight ahead. We were ready to shoot at anything that moved when the door opened.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Twenty

  Instead of a dozen guards waiting for us when the doors opened, the hallway was deserted. The clinical white walls, floor and ceiling were left behind. The color scheme was now gray and depressing. A long hallway stretched out ahead with barred cells lining the walls on both sides. Steel bars weren’t enough for these prisoners. Thick glass windows also walled them off from the outside world.

  “Hurry,” Mark urged. “Kendricks will come after us as soon as he realizes we’re missing.” At his warning, we surged into action, glancing inside each cell as we hurried past. Roughly half were occupied. Although most looked like normal people, none of the occupants were human. All were dressed in white t-shirts and drawstring pants. None were wearing shoes.

  The captives were dull eyed, which meant they were probably sedated, but we didn’t go unnoticed. Heads turned to watch us with disinterest. “Most of them are shifters,” I told Mark as he continued on. I had no idea what the rest of them were. “Can we free them?”

  He spared me a quick look before answering. “I’m afraid not.”

  His answer shocked me. “Why?”

  “It’s against PIA protocol.” His tone was clipped, but I was pretty sure his anger wasn’t directed at me.

  “Is the O Squad really just going to let us take Flynn out of here?” Kala queried.

  “That depends,” he replied.

  “On what?”

  “On whether they believe he’s a danger to humans or not.”

  Kala and I exchanged a long look. Flynn had already been a danger to humans before he’d been led here by the mysterious snake charmer. It had just become even more important for us to find him before Kendricks and his men came after us.

  Reaching the end of the hallway, we turned the corner and found more cells waiting. We hurried along, checking each room until we came to another corner. Kala and I heard the elevator start to ascend and knew we had to get a move on. “I’m going to speed this up a bit,” she said and took off. The gla
ss walls meant that we couldn’t find Flynn by his scent. We had to search by sight instead.

  I stayed with Mark and watched the rear. Kala gave a low whistle a short while later and we broke into a run. We found her around the final corner near the far end of the hall. Mark took a device out of his pocket as he reached her. He had all sorts of gadgets that I had no idea how to use.

  I looked through the bars to see Flynn lying on the metal cot. Dressed in the same clothes as the other captives, he stared up at the ceiling. His chest rose and fell and he blinked every now and then, but he gave no indication that he knew we were there.

  Mark pushed a button on the device and the door clicked open. Kala grabbed him by the arm before he could enter the cell. “Wait here,” she told him then stepped inside. I followed her over to the bed. “Flynn?” she said tentatively. He didn’t seem to hear her. “What’s wrong with him?” she asked me.

  Delving into his mind through our fragile link, I found a wall barring my entry. “Something has control of his mind. It’s shutting me out.”

  The sound of the elevator’s arrival echoed through the hall, signaling that we were out of time. At least Flynn wasn’t acting in a hostile manner. With luck, we’d be able to convince Kendricks that he was harmless.

  Several pairs of feet pounded along the hallway. Kendricks and three of his men appeared a few seconds later. He took in the situation then glared at Mark. “I told you to wait for us,” he ground out.

  Mark shrugged in unconcern. Both men were squad leaders, but I had a feeling our boss outranked Kendricks. “We took a chance that we’d be able to deal with any opposition,” Mark said. “We haven’t encountered any so far.”

  “Doesn’t that seem strange to you?”

  “Yes,” he admitted. “EERI usually have at least several guards posted near their captives.”

  Kendricks glanced at the cell across the hall and did a double take. The woman who was locked inside was standing at the barred door. She stared at him without seeing him. Completely devoid of hair, she was easily four inches taller than him and had far wider shoulders. Her eyes were a solid dark blue without any irises. Iridescent scales covered every inch of her exposed skin. She seemed more amphibious than reptilian, but she didn’t appear to have gills. I wasn’t sure what she was, but she wasn’t a shifter.

  “What kinds of creatures do they have stored down here?” the squad leader asked.

  “You don’t want to know,” Kala said as she slid her hand behind Flynn’s back. She eased him into a sitting position and we drew his arms around our shoulders. I could shoot just as well with my left hand as I could with my right, so I took his left side and gripped his waist tightly.

  “Some of the prisoners are just normal humans like Flynn,” I lied, thinking of the shifters that we’d passed. “We can point them out to you so you can free them as well.” They’d need our assistance, but if the rest of his men pitched in we’d be able to evacuate them all.

  He ignored my offer and motioned for us to leave the cell. “Let’s get moving. I don’t like how quiet it is down here.”

  Neither did I, but I wasn’t about to leave without trying to help some of the captives. I could sense wolves and other canine species as well as lions and other felines. The rest I wasn’t sure about. “Can you use your device to free the prisoners?” I asked Mark.

  Kendricks answered for him. “Part of the reason we’re here is to rescue your agent. You’ve got him, now it’s time for us to leave.”

  Kala and I didn’t move and Mark was forced to explain. “This is standard O Squad protocol. We have to go now.” Dropping his voice down to less than a whisper, he added something that chilled me to the core. “Don’t argue, or we’ll all end up dead.”

  Without another word, Kala set us into motion. Flynn lurched forward, moving his legs woodenly. When Kendricks and his men weren’t looking, we lifted him up so his feet didn’t drag on the floor. As we hurried along, a silver disc caught my eye. Stuck to the wall between two of the cells, it was about the size of my palm. We moved past it before I could take a closer look.

  Hearing a strange rumbling sound, I turned my head and frowned. “Do you hear that?” I asked Kala.

  She nodded and started moving faster. “I don’t know what it is, but I know I don’t like it.”

  We were one corner away from the elevator when the floor behind us erupted. Tiles and concrete flew into the air. They hit the ceiling then thumped back down to the floor with a clang. Dust and dirt obscured the creature that rose from a tunnel beneath the base. Multiple eyes opened. They blinked at us and then the creature hissed. Long, forked tongues emerged from its maws to taste our scent.

  At first, I couldn’t quite understand what I was looking at. Then I realized it was a gigantic snake. It had five identical heads on the ends of long, sinuous necks. Each head was hooded like a cobra and had fangs that dripped with venom. It reminded me of Flynn when he changed, but its body was a dull sandy color rather than shades of green and cream.

  “Mother of God,” Mark breathed in awe that was tinged with terror. “Run!” he shouted and Kendricks and his men were only too happy to comply.

  Backing away, Kala and I fired at the multi-headed monster as it wormed its way out of the hole and slithered along the corridor on a body that was over fifty feet long. Instead of blood, rock spattered from it each time our bullets hit it.

  Targeting the middle head simply because it rose slightly above the others, I fired a bullet into each eye. It hissed in fury and the other four heads paused. Its eyes regenerated and it started towards us again.

  I looked at Kala to see she was just as alarmed as me. In mutual agreement, we picked Flynn up and ran for the elevator that was just beginning to open. As we ran, I noticed more silver discs stuck to the walls. I was certain they hadn’t been there the first time we’d traversed through the halls.

  Reaching the elevator, we spun around and opened fire as the reptile rapidly slithered towards us. Crammed in behind us, Kendricks and his men fired over our shoulders. The noise of our combined gunfire was deafening.

  Mark repeatedly pushed one of the buttons, trying to force the doors to close. They finally slid shut and a moment later one of the snake’s heads thudded into them hard enough to make the elevator shudder.

  For a few moments, the only sound was the inane elevator music. Then Cortez let out an explosive breath. “Holy crap!” he exclaimed. “What the hell was that thing?” His voice was several octaves higher than usual.

  “I think it’s a hydra,” Mark said. His face was ashen. “At least that’s what it looked like.” He didn’t seem too sure of himself for once.

  We all reloaded, waiting for the elevator to open again and disgorge us. Our ride was short and we stopped on the next level up. When the doors opened, we came very close to shooting Kendricks’ men. His four agents started back a step then we dropped our aim to the floor. Their boss curtly gestured for them to enter. The elevator wasn’t designed to hold twelve people, but the doors closed without protest and we continued our journey.

  “I have a feeling we missed something,” one of the squad members who’d just joined us said dryly. He could tell by our spooked expressions and the shell casings that littered the floor that we’d just had a battle with something. The noise had been contained to the lower level and they hadn’t heard the ruckus.

  “We just met Godzilla’s distant cousin,” Cortez said. His fellow agents’ eyebrows rose in confusion.

  “It was the biggest freaking snake on the planet,” one of the others explained. “It had five heads and our bullets didn’t even seem to bother it.”

  “Can we kill it?” Kendricks asked.

  “Normally, I’d say yes,” Mark replied. “In this instance, I just don’t know.”

  The leader of the O Squad frowned. “Are you always this cryptic?”

  “It looks like a hydra, but it isn’t made of flesh and blood,” Mark struggled to explain. “It seems to be made
of stone.”

  “How do you kill something that’s made of rock?” Kala asked and received a troubled shrug.

  “I don’t know.”

  We reached the upper level and became focused again. The doors opened and we raised our weapons. I was half expecting the hydra to be waiting, as if it could somehow make its way through tons of concrete and metal ahead of us. Our guns rose, but the hallway was empty and we stepped out in relief.

  “What’s wrong with your agent?” Kendricks asked as he led the way back to the exit. More of his men joined us until all but the two he’d left outside were gathered together.

  “He’s been sedated like the other subjects,” Mark replied. It was as good an excuse as any and in a way it was true. Whatever had a hold of his mind had put him into a waking coma.

  “If it was up to me, you know what his fate would be,” Kendricks said in a low voice.

  “I know,” Mark said grimly. “Fortunately, it isn’t up to you.” They had a short staring match before Kendricks continued on down the hallway. Flynn wasn’t a threat at the moment and he didn’t have just cause to end his life.

  Cortez pushed the exit door open and made sure the coast was clear before stepping outside. Dozens of dead snakes were strewn around the area. The two agents who had been left outside had been busy keeping the way clear. Both men appeared out of the darkness and joined us as we jogged towards the hole that had been cut into the fence.

  Once we were clear of the compound, Kendricks gave a nod to one of his men. The agent took a device out of his pocket and pushed a button. I felt a rumbling beneath our feet a few seconds later. For a moment, I thought it was the hydra. Then the building imploded in a roar of flames.

  I flashed back to the silver disks I’d seen as we’d been making our escape and realized that Kendricks’ men had planted bombs. He’d split his team up so they could place the devices on each level.