Hominid

by R. D. Brady

  Tess pounded on his arm. “No. We need to go north.”

  Kong ignored her.

  Tess pounded again. “No. We’re going the wrong way.”

  Kong grunted at her.

  Soon they approached a gathering of waiting bigfoot. Kong came to a stop and unceremoniously dumped Tess on the ground. She landed hard on her butt. That’s going to leave a mark.

  The men were set down a little more kindly. Tess got to her feet and immediately scanned the group for Missy. Sugar came loping over to her, and Tess smiled with relief. If Sugar was here, then Mary, Frank and Missy couldn’t be too far away.

  Sugar started to chatter quickly. She was clearly agitated.

  Tess reached up and rubbed the side of her face. “It’s okay, Sugar. It’s okay.”

  Sugar held Tess’s hand to her face and closed her eyes. Tess felt the sadness from Sugar. Their home had been uncovered and destroyed. And even though they didn’t have possessions, they did have a connection to the land. That mindless destruction was going to be tough on all of them.

  Tess also felt uneasy, and that feeling was all her own. The bigfoot around her were giving her unhappy looks.

  Shawn, Dev, and Pax came over to her. She glanced up at them and spoke in a low voice. “We need to find Missy fast.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think your friends like us very much right now,” Pax said.

  “Come on.” Shawn started forward.

  Easing their way through the group, they finally spotted Missy in Frank’s arms, Mary beside them.

  “Tess!” Missy yelled. Frank turned, and Tess could have sworn she saw relief on his face. Missy scrambled down and ran for her.

  Tess knelt down, and Missy nearly plowed her over when she leapt into her arms. “I didn’t know what happened to you,” Missy said, tears in her throat.

  Tess hugged her tight. “I’m okay. Kong helped us get out.”

  Missy nodded into her shoulder and didn’t seem inclined to let her go. Tess stood, and Missy wrapped her legs around Tess’s waist. Tess patted the girl’s back and carried her back over to Frank and Mary. The men followed.

  Mary looked between Tess and Missy. Tess could sense her sadness—but also her relief that Missy had found a home with her own people.

  “Missy?” Tess said quietly. “I need your help talking, okay?”

  Missy nodded, wiping at the tears on her cheeks.

  Tess turned to Frank. Kong muscled his way over to them, but Tess ignored him. “We have to head north,” she said. “There will be more coming.”

  She waited while Missy translated. Kong grunted, which Tess took as disagreement. She ignored that too. “We have a plan to get everyone to safety, but it will only work if we head to the north. Please trust me.”

  Missy looked up at her. “There’s no word for trust in their language.”

  “Well, come as close as you can.”

  Missy spoke with them again, and Tess waited anxiously. All of this hinged on the bigfoot trusting them right now. If they didn’t… Tess shook her head. She didn’t even want to think about that.

  Kong grunted and gestured angrily. Frank chattered back at him. Mary also piped in. And a murmur rumbled around all them. Pax’s hand found Tess’s and she squeezed it tight.

  Shawn leaned down and spoke quietly in Tess’s ear. “We need to get moving soon. They’ll have regrouped by now and focused their forces on our probable escape route.”

  Tess knew he was right, and she felt the seconds tick by. She wanted to yell at the bigfoot to hurry, but that wasn’t how it was done. And she knew if she interrupted, she’d just slow things down. So she bit her tongue and prayed they would come to a decision soon.

  Finally, they went quiet.

  “Missy?” Tess asked.

  Missy looked up at her. “They’ll go.”

  CHAPTER 119

  Tess explained the plan to Missy, who translated it to the group. “Do they know where that is?” Tess asked.

  “Yes,” Missy said.

  Tess knelt down in front of the girl. “Now I need you to go with Pax.”

  Missy looked confused. “What?”

  “I need you safe. And this part is going to be dangerous.”

  Missy’s eyes grew large and her bottom lip trembled. “You don’t want me to come with you?”

  Tess ran her hand over Missy’s hair. “No, it’s not like that. I need to know you’re safe. It’s my job to keep you safe. And if I bring us with you, I’m not doing my job. So you and Pax are going to head back home, out of harm’s way.”

  Pax knelt down. “You’re with me, kiddo.”

  Missy looked back and forth between them. Tess knew she wanted to argue, so Tess spoke before she could. “Please, Missy. I need to try to keep everyone safe. And you and Pax being out of the way will help with that.”

  “But you will come back? You’re not sending me away?” Missy asked.

  “Of course I’ll come back. You’re my family now. And you will always be my family. When we’re done, I’ll find you at the cabin.”

  Missy nodded even as tears filled her eyes. She threw her arms around Tess. Tess hugged her tight. Please let me not be lying about returning to her. She’s lost too much already.

  Tess pulled away and tried to keep her tone neutral. “Go hug everybody else, okay?”

  Missy gave her a long look, then turned and ran for Mary.

  “You sure this is for the best?” Pax said.

  Tess kept her eyes on Missy, who was wrapped in Mary’s and Sugar’s arms. “I need her safe. I need you safe.”

  “I can fight if I need to.”

  Tess took his hand. “I know that. But I’m trusting you with something far more precious to me. If I don’t make it back, I need you to take care of her, okay?”

  Pax’s jaw tightened. “Don’t talk that way. And you don’t even have to ask that. I love Missy. But you come back, you hear me?”

  “That’s the plan,” Tess said lightly.

  Pax gave a little laugh even as he wiped at a tear that escaped the corner of his eye. “Oh, good. Well, as long as you have a plan, nothing can go wrong.”

  “Look at how well everything’s turned out so far,” Tess joked, but it fell flat.

  Pax pulled her into a hug. “Just come back. You’re kind of important to me.”

  “I will,” Tess said into his shoulder.

  Pax pulled away and wiped at his eyes. “And bring back my husband. He’s kind of important to me too.”

  “I will,” Tess said.

  Pax kissed her on the cheek and then walked over to Shawn.

  Dev made his way to her side. “You okay?”

  Tess sighed. “Not really. I can’t let Missy come with us, but I hate for those two to go back alone.”

  “They’ll be okay—safer than the rest of us.”

  “I’m counting on that.”

  Frank walked over with Missy in his arms and Kong at his heels. Tess looked between the unfriendly bigfoot and Missy. “What’s going on?”

  “Kong’s going to take us home,” Missy said.

  Tess’s eyes flew to Kong. He looked back at her with his usual flat expression. “Thank you,” she said.

  He gave her a nod.

  Shawn and Pax joined them and Tess quickly relayed the new plan.

  Pax paled a little. “Oh good. Another ride.”

  Shawn wrapped an arm around him. “Cheer up. Think of all the stories you’ll have that you can never tell anyone.”

  “Oh, I’m telling people. Our son is going to hear every single one. Although I’ll pretend they’re all the result of my incredible imagination.”

  Tess smiled even though a large part of her felt like crying. “Okay then. Let’s get this show on the road.”

  Missy hugged Frank and Mary one more time. Mary picked her up and placed her on Kong, then Kong knelt down and let Pax scramble up.

  Pax gave a wobbly smile as Kong stood. “Well I guess it’s time—”

  Kon
g took off through the woods.

  Tess smiled at Pax’s yelp. Then she took a breath and turned to the rest of the group. “Okay. Now for the rest of us.”

  CHAPTER 120

  Tess held on to Mary’s back as the female bigfoot ran through the trees. They were leading the tribe. Tess thought they were making good time, and she hadn’t heard any forces behind her. But more than one chopper had flown above them. Each time she’d tensed, waiting for the gunfire. But so far, it hadn’t yet come.

  Tess pulled out her GPS. Three miles to go. She looked back at Dev, who was on one of Kong’s men. He gave her a thumbs-up. Tess gave herself a moment of hope. We’re going to make it.

  Then she heard the undeniable sound of another helicopter. And this one sounded different, larger. She tapped Mary on the shoulder. Mary slowed down and then stopped. Frank stopped next to them, Shawn on his back, staring up at the sky.

  “Shawn?” Tess asked.

  Shawn tapped on Frank’s shoulder. Frank knelt down so Shawn could disembark. Then Shawn pulled out his binoculars and scanned the sky, finally focusing on a spot to the north.

  “Well?” Tess asked.

  “It’s not a gunship. It’s a transport chopper. I think it’s a Sikorsky. They can carry forty men.” He lowered the binoculars. “They’re landing. I’m guessing they’ve picked up on our heat signatures and know exactly where we are. They’re trying to cut us off.”

  “We need to go around them then,” Tess said.

  “Let’s head northwest,” Shawn said.

  “But—”

  “I know. But we can’t take them on. Not head on. They’ll be armed to the teeth.”

  “We’ll have to backtrack.”

  “There’s no other choice.” He paused. “Will you be able to use that gun on a human, if you have to?”

  Tess looked over the tribe of bigfoot that stood behind them. There were over five dozen, ranging in age from elderly to newborn. They had stayed away from humans for centuries. And now humans were chasing them into a confrontation that they could never win. One that the bigfoot had never planned on engaging in. All they wanted was to be left alone, to live in peace. And humans wouldn’t let them.

  Tess felt only disgust at the reasons behind this life-and-death chase. Disgust at what her species would do to this other species. It was genocide. Could she shoot a human to save the tribe?

  “If it comes to that…” She paused. “Yes.”

  CHAPTER 121

  They altered their course, heading more northwest than north. They were only a mile from their destination.

  A gunshot rang out, and Tess’s head popped up. Damn it.

  “Take cover!” Shawn yelled.

  The bigfoot didn’t understand the words, but either Shawn’s tone or the gunshot told them all they needed to know. Some of the bigfoot dropped to the ground, others slipped into the trees.

  Mary crouched down, and Tess rolled off. Shawn crawled up next to her.

  “Where’s it coming from?” Tess asked.

  “East,” Shawn said, no doubt in his voice. “It’s got to be the men from the chopper. Either they landed farther this way than I thought, or they’ve been tracking our direction this whole time.”

  A human scream echoed through the trees, and the hairs on the back of Tess’s neck stood up. Dev made his way to Tess’s other side. “I think your friends found one of the gunmen,” he said.

  The report of a weapon sounded behind them. Tess whirled around. “What the hell?”

  “Damn it. They’re flanking us, trying to box us in. Some of those choppers must have dropped more off and we didn’t see it. We need to go, now.” Shawn grabbed Tess’s arm.

  Together they made their way forward, the bigfoot doing the same.

  Then all hell broke loose.

  CHAPTER 122

  Dev pushed Tess to the ground, covering her as shots rang out. Shawn scurried behind a tree. He yelled over at them. “I’ll cover you guys. Get ready to run.”

  Before Tess could argue, Shawn let off a barrage of gunfire. Dev and Tess crawled as quickly as they could to a rocky outcropping up ahead. Then using the rocks for cover, Dev provided cover for Shawn.

  Shawn sprinted toward them and dove low. “How much farther?”

  Tess checked the GPS. “Another mile.”

  “That’s going to be a really long mile,” Dev muttered.

  Tess scanned the woods and saw the bigfoot making their way from tree to tree. So far, they looked all right.

  “We can’t stay here,” Shawn said. “We’re just giving them a chance to set up. We need to move faster.”

  As if on cue, Mary, Frank, and the bigfoot who had been carrying Dev grabbed the humans and began sprinting through the trees.

  Tess held on for dear life, but she knew Mary would never drop her.

  Then Sugar let out a yell, and Mary’s head whipped to the side. Before Tess could even inhale, Sugar was sprinting through the trees away from them.

  Mary didn’t even hesitate—she ran after her daughter.

  “Tess!” Dev yelled.

  “I'll find you,” Tess yelled back, not sure if he even heard her. She gripped her hands tighter in Mary’s hair, trying to keep from losing her purchase. Tess tried to spy Sugar ahead, but the jostling from Mary made that impossible.

  Then Mary let out a screech and dropped Tess to the ground, barely pausing. Tess rolled as she hit, but still felt the impact shimmy up her legs.

  A scream—a human one—sounded up ahead. Tess got to her feet and stumbled forward.

  Oh no.

  Two of Sugar’s friends were on the ground, blood seeping from their wounds. Sugar knelt next to them, immobilized. Behind them, two humans were also on the ground. One man’s leg was bent at an unnatural angle. The other was trying to crawl away.

  Mary stormed toward the second man.

  Tess ran up to her. “No.”

  Mary glared down at her.

  But Tess didn't move. The man was no threat. And in any other case, Mary wouldn't even consider harming him further. Tess nudged her chin toward the juveniles. “They need your help.”

  Mary stood in front of Tess, her hands curled into fists. Finally, she stepped back. Tess didn’t spare the man another glance as she made her way toward the wounded bigfoot and dropped down beside one. The bullet had gone through her leg, but the wound was already clotting. The other had been shot in the side and in the foot. But neither wound looked overly serious. Which was good, because if they were serious, Tess wasn’t sure what she could have done about it.

  Mary picked up the one who’d been shot in the foot while Sugar wrapped her arm around the shoulders of the one who’d been hit in the leg.

  Mary glanced back at Tess. And Tess knew Mary could not carry her as well. They both needed to get the injured bigfoot out of danger and quickly. Tess would only slow them down.

  Tess nodded. “Go. I’ll catch up.”

  Sugar glanced between Mary and Tess, her eyes growing wide. But Mary barked at her, and Sugar lowered her head. Tess touched Sugar’s arm. “I’ll be okay, Sugar. Get your friends to safety.”

  Mary nodded at Tess and took off at a run. Sugar gave Tess one last long look before following.

  Tess let out a trembling breath. Right, now it’s just me.

  She took a step forward and then dove to the ground as gunfire sounded from only a hundred yards away.

  CHAPTER 123

  Tess crawled toward a tree, her heart pounding. More gunfire sounded, followed by screams. No.

  Tess got to her feet but kept low, hoping it was only humans that were hurt. And what kind of human does that make me?

  When she heard voices, she crept forward as quietly as she could, keeping herself low behind the scruff.

  Taking shelter underneath the thick branches of a Douglas fir, she crawled toward the voices. A keening wail sounded from up ahead, and then was abruptly cut off. Tess’s heart beat even faster. She moved forward on her belly, hidden b
y the fir’s prickly leaves, and peeked through the branches.

  Ahead of her a juvenile lay on the ground, a dart sticking out of his back. Beyond him, a larger bigfoot lay motionless, blood pooling next to him.

  Tess put her hand to her mouth. Two men made their way into the clearing. One advanced on the larger bigfoot and kicked it. It didn’t move. “This one’s gone,” he said.

  The other man advanced on the small one. “This one’s still breathing. Not sure how long he’ll be out. Let’s get him caged before he wakes up.”

  “What about the big one?” the first man said, kicking the dead bigfoot again.

  “We’ll grab him later. He’s not going anywhere.”

  “You sure he’s out?” the first man asked, nodding at the smaller bigfoot.

  “Yeah. These tranqs can take down an elephant. Grab an arm.”

  With a grunt, the two men started dragging the juvenile away. “He’s heavier than he looks,” the first man said.

  “It’s all that muscle. This thing is ripped.”

  Tess watched them leave, then let her gaze return to the dead bigfoot. I’m so sorry, she thought.

  She crawled out from under the evergreen. She hesitated, glancing in the direction Dev, Shawn, and the rest of the bigfoot had gone. The direction she was supposed to go.

  Then she turned and followed the men.

  CHAPTER 124

  Tess was easily able to keep up with the two men—since they were dragging the bigfoot behind them—but she wasn’t sure what to do. They were trained soldiers, and she was not. There was no way she could get the bigfoot away from them; even though he was only a juvenile, he was easily two hundred pounds, and she’d never be able to carry him or even drag him away.

  And she knew she wouldn’t be able to kill the men—she wasn’t ready for that step.

  So she followed them and watched from behind the trees as they joined up with two more men. The four of them picked up the juvenile and carried it to a camp of sorts. A row of six empty cages were lined up against one side of a clearing. To Tess’s relief, they were all empty.