by J. C. Diem
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Chapter Ten
When I finished reading the report, I smiled at the happy ending. Instead of living an ordinary, boring life and dying alone, Prudence had met a man who she could share excitement and danger with. I could see certain similarities between us. My life hadn’t turned out how I’d expected it to either.
Kala removed her earphones and gestured at my laptop. “You really enjoy reading through those old files, don’t you?”
“It’s fascinating to read about true accounts that were written by people just like us.”
Flynn removed his earphones as well. “They’re not really like us, though. They’re human.”
“That’s what makes their stories so interesting,” I said. “They don’t have our advantage of speed and strength. They’re just ordinary people who have taken on the monsters and have lived to tell the tale.” Charity hadn’t survived, but she’d done her best to avenge her family at least. “I guess I can identify with them because I was normal when I first joined the team. Finding out that supernatural creatures really do exist was a shock.”
“You were never really normal, though,” Kala pointed out. “Your mom fed from you when you were only a few months old. She left more than just a scar when she bit you, she changed you forever.” Kala might be mischievous most of the time, but she occasionally had surprising flashes of insight.
“Maybe that’s why you fit into our squad so well,” Flynn said. “You were already different from other humans, even if you weren’t exactly like us.”
Reece had a question for Mark. “Do you think the vampirism in her system might be responsible for Lexi’s skill with guns?”
Mark put some thought into it before answering. “It could be. I’ve never read an account of anyone being infected with vampirism and not turning into the undead. Victims don’t usually survive being bitten at all. Her father’s intervention saved her life.”
“The blood transfusion I was given probably had something to do with it as well,” I reminded him.
He inclined his head in a nod. “That’s true. It may have helped to flush the virus out of your system before it killed you.”
“Is vampirism a virus?”
He lifted his shoulder in a shrug. “No one really knows. Virus is as good a description as any.”
“EERI probably know more about them than we do,” Kala said. She winced when she realized she’d just divulged information that I wasn’t supposed to know.
“Eerie? I asked. “Who or what are they?” She flinched when Mark sent her a sharp glance and I figured it out for myself. “They’re the guys who stole you when you were kids and turned you into shifters.”
Now that the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, Mark told me a little more about them, but not much. “EERI stands for Extraordinary Entities Research Institute. If you ever meet anyone from their organization, I’d advise you to run.” He wasn’t smiling when he gave me that warning, which meant he was deadly serious.
“EERI might suck, but they have a pretty cool acronym,” Flynn said.
Kala shook her head. “I don’t know how you can be so laid back about the people who turned us into monsters.”
“Mark killed the scientists who were responsible,” he replied. “What’s the point in being mad about something that I can’t and wouldn’t change?”
“You like being a wereconstrictor?” I asked.
“I like the perks that come with being a shifter.”
“Your ability to taste the air must come in real handy,” Kala said with a smirk.
“I can pick up details that none of you can,” he countered. “I’d like to see you be able to determine the sex and general age of our targets just by their scent.”
She poked her tongue out at him then was distracted by Mark when he reached into a bag at his feet. He knew his agents well enough to sense an argument brewing. “Here,” he said and tossed a bag to Kala over his shoulder. “Eat this.” He tossed another bag to Flynn and me. Food was always the quickest way to diffuse a tense situation when it came to shifters.
Again, it was peanuts, but I wasn’t about to complain. I sensed Zeus come awake as Kala ripped open her bag with her teeth. Quicker than a flash, he stood and deftly snatched the bag out of her hands. Blinking in astonishment, she turned to glare at the Rottweiler when she heard gobbling noises coming from behind her. Spitting the empty bag into her lap, his tongue lolled in a grin.
“I told you to guard your nuts,” Flynn said smugly and upended half of the bag into his mouth.
With a wry shake of his head, Mark delved into the plastic bag again. Kala caught the peanuts and leaned forward, shielding them with her body this time. Zeus slid his eyes to me and I mentally patted him on the head. He wasn’t just my guardian, he was also a reliable source of entertainment.
After four hours of travel with only one short break, I was happy to finally see our new base. We’d left the freeway behind over an hour ago and had taken a series of ill-kept roads ever since. I could see why Mark chose SUVs as our transportation. They could handle rough terrain far better than a sedan.
When the thirty foot high electrified fence came into view, Kala let out a relieved sound. “Finally! I thought we’d never get here.”
We were all cranky from being in a confined space for far too long. At least when we were in the jet, we could spread out if we wanted to. I wasn’t a fan of being squished in the middle all the time. Being the newest and the lowest ranking team member, I couldn’t really complain.
A faint, burning pain began in my chest as we neared the fence. It felt a bit like heartburn, but more painful. I did a double take when I noticed wooden crosses spaced out every thirty feet or so. They’d been erected just inside the grounds. This must be Mark’s plan to keep my mother out. “Will the crosses really work?” I asked.
Meeting my gaze in the mirror, he nodded. “They won’t work against all of the undead, but they will be an effective barrier against vampires.”
“Will they keep zombies out?”
“I’m afraid not. Zombies can burrow deeply enough beneath the ground to carry them out of range.”
The burning pain in my chest grew worse when we pulled into the driveway and stopped at the gate. Topped with razor wire and guarded by cameras, it was far from welcoming. A much larger, metal cross had been welded to the gate itself.
Mark took a remote control device out of the glove box. He pressed a button and the gate swung open. A far sharper pain assailed me when we drove through the gate. It faded then disappeared as we headed towards the building far in the distance. I hid my shudder and clamped down on my thoughts when I realized that the crosses were the cause of my discomfort.
The dilapidated old church in Bradbury hadn’t affected me like this. I couldn’t think of a reason why holy symbols would be causing me pain at first. Then I remembered a vampire leaping onto my back in the midst of the battle with Katrina’s nest. He’d sunk his fangs into me before I’d managed to tear him off.
I’d been bitten by both a vampire and a werewolf and I’d been told by a voodoo priestess that my soul was being torn between two opposing forces. It was possible that the extra toxin that he’d infected me with had sped up the process of turning me to the dark side.
Beatrice had also known that I was under siege. She was knowledgeable about our kind and had advised me of what I’d need to do to free myself from the taint. Step one was to kill the master of the vampire who had bitten me. Kala and Flynn had accomplished that task while they’d been in their were forms. I hadn’t noticed any difference in myself after he’d been destroyed and I was far from being cured.
I wasn’t the only one who was in peril. Reece had been bitten as well and only our bond had saved him. We had to put an end to the creature who had bitten us both and that meant we had to kill my mother. Not that she was really alive. Like every other undead creature on the planet, she was just a shell full of malevolent evil. If we didn’t find her s
oon, the darkness that was eating away at both of our souls would win.
Zeus sensed my dread and leaned forward to rest his head on my shoulder.
“What’s wrong with him?” Kala asked.
“He’s tired of being stuck in the back of the SUV with our luggage.” It wasn’t a total lie. He was just as sick of being in the vehicle as the rest of us.
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Chapter Eleven
Driving along the narrow track, we soon reached the familiar two story concrete building. All of the compounds so far had been exact replicas of each other. Only the furniture differed. It was disconcerting to be in another state, yet to inhabit the exact same building each time we moved to a new location. In a way, it was comforting. Maybe someone had intended the compounds to feel like our home.
The garage door slid open and Reece backed inside. As always, a black van was parked in one of the vacant spaces. I had a moment of disorientation where I almost felt as if we’d travelled back to the compound in Colorado.
With only two vehicles in the large space, the garage seemed almost cavernous. Zeus leapt out as soon as I opened the door. He headed outside to take care of his pressing need to empty his bladder. While puppies were usually adorable, I was glad he was well past the housetraining stage.
He returned just as Mark placed his hand on the scanner. The lock clicked open and we stepped into the hallway. The long corridor stretched out to the right, but there was only one door on the left. As usual, we’d need to scan our prints on the computer before the rest of us would have access to any of the doors.
Opening the door to the main area, Mark took a cursory glance around. The Cleanup Crew had left the lights on for us, not that most of us needed them. Only our boss lacked the ability to see in the dark.
“Outta my way,” Kala said and elbowed her way through us. “I’m going to kill someone if I don’t get coffee soon.” She dumped her bags at the base of the spiral staircase that led to the coms room and the bedrooms above. She barely spared a look at the living area to the left or the gym and boxing ring to the far right. Skirting around the dining table that could seat twelve people, she rounded the long island counter and headed straight for the coffee machine.
It would take a while for the coffee to brew, so I carried mine and Kala’s gear upstairs with Reece, Flynn and Mark right behind me. The usual dark blue carpet covered the upper floors. I wasn’t sure why that feature always stayed the same. I stopped at the second door on the right and put Kala’s bags inside her room. My bedroom was the next door down. Reece winked as he continued on to his room, which was two doors further along the hallway.
Mark always took the first door on the right and Flynn’s room was just past mine. All of the rooms on the left side of the hall were spares. I wasn’t sure why we had so many bedrooms. The only time we’d had a guest was when my father had come to visit me after learning I was a werewolf.
Pushing aside thoughts of my father before I could become depressed, I examined my room. My bed was queen sized as always, but it was plain and utilitarian this time. The dresser was made of the same blond, unembellished wood. The decor didn’t matter much to me. As long as the mattress was comfortable, any bed would suffice.
I put my clothes away in the dresser and hung up my small collection of jackets. I was in dire need of more clothing and I hoped we’d be able to go shopping soon. I was sure Kala would go with me. She might not be the girliest of girls, but surely she liked to shop.
The scent of coffee wafted upwards when I stepped out into the hall. Kala had made enough for everyone. Five mugs sat on the coffee table next to a plate of sandwiches. From their neat construction, Mark must have made them. Kala was adhering to our wishes not to enter the kitchen unless it was to make coffee.
Three black leather couches sat in a U shape around the coffee table. A gigantic TV was mounted on the wall. There was no rug this time and the floor was bare concrete, which made the area seemed unfinished.
I took a seat next to Reece. Zeus plonked himself down on the floor in front of me. Surrounded by my friends and my guardian, I felt safer than I had since learning that my mom was a bloodsucking corpse.
Mark allowed us to have a short break, but once we’d finished our lunch, it was back to business again. “Let’s head up to the coms room so I can scan your prints,” he said then gestured for us to follow him upstairs.
Zeus took one look at the tight spiral staircase and decided he’d prefer to explore the grounds outside. I couldn’t blame him. It was a dizzying climb, but I was used to it by now. He trotted over to the door in the kitchen that led to the front of the compound.
Stay away from the fence, I told him as I let him out. If he’d been able to roll his eyes, he would have. He knew it would be death to get close to the barrier even if he wasn’t sure why. Dogs couldn’t really fathom electricity.
I closed the door then jogged over to the stairs and took them two at a time. A state-of-the-art computer table sat to the left of the coms room. Monitors lined two of the walls. Communications equipment and other electronic gear were over to the right. An L-shaped black leather couch and a small, square coffee table had been positioned in the far right corner. Large glass windows had been erected to give a view of the area below. It was also to stop anyone from accidentally toppling over the waist high wall.
We formed a line as Mark switched the computer on. I noticed there were five office chairs instead of four now. Another one had been added since I’d joined the team. We took turns scanning our prints so we’d be able to access all of the doors below. Our bedrooms were the only doors that didn’t have scanners. They could only be locked from the inside.
With that task out of the way, Mark sat down. We each chose a chair and sat to watch him in action. He opened a file and sent it to one of the monitors. “I’ve mapped out the locations where the deaths and disappearances have occurred. I started with the first death four years ago. The results are somewhat disturbing.”
We saw what he meant as soon as a map came up. Eighteen bodies had been left in a rough circle that was several hundred miles in circumference. Our base sat directly in the middle of the kill zone. To me, it looked like a target with our compound as the bull’s-eye.
“How has no one noticed this before?” Flynn asked. “It seems pretty clear that someone has been trying to get our attention.”
“How do they even know we exist?” Kala wondered out loud. “It has to be someone we’ve run into before and who has a vendetta against us.”
“If they know who we are, then they know we hunt down rogue shifters,” I said. “Why would they deliberately try to draw us here?”
Reece was watching Mark. He read something on his face that the rest of us hadn’t picked up on. “You know who it is.” It wasn’t a question, but a certainty.
Our boss gave a grudging nod. “I have my suspicions.”
Remembering what had happened to his wife and daughter, I realized who had to be responsible. “It’s the same pack who tried to hunt you down after you killed their alpha, isn’t it?” I vaguely remembered that the attack had happened somewhere in West Virginia.
“They seem to be the most likely culprits.”
“Why would they wait so long before trying to lure you back here?” Reece asked.
I still didn’t know much about our kind even after reading through the archives. We tended to stay under the radar most of the time and little was known about us. “Can they still want revenge after this long?”
“Shifters can be terrifyingly tenacious,” he explained. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they’re still after my blood for killing their alpha male. They might very well have been trying to taunt me into returning here.”
“They’ve got their wish,” Reece said in grim determination. “It’s time we took care of this pack once and for all.”
Mark didn’t look as pleased about that prospect as I’d expected. If anything, he seemed to be dreading our latest mission.
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Chapter Twelve
“What do we know about our targets?” Flynn asked. Reece was so tense that it was like sitting next to a tree. Kala’s eyes had turned cruel. If she’d had a tail, it would have been twitching in anticipation of the hunt.
Mark accessed a file that I hadn’t encountered while scrolling through the archives. It was probably restricted from someone with a low clearance level like mine. Seconds later, the woman who had almost gutted him nearly two decades ago came up on the screen.
It was a grainy picture that had been taken from an old and outdated security camera. Short and thin, she didn’t look very dangerous. Then again, neither did I and I’d torn a man’s arm off by accident not that long ago.
“This is the only photo I have of her,” Mark said. “After I killed her husband, Garrison Carter, she went underground. There was very little information about her to be found in the first place, but she must have hired someone to wipe her records. She also had her husband’s data erased. I can’t find any mention of him now. Even his service records with the Fire Department are gone.”
“She must have been worried that you’d go after her,” Flynn said.
“She was right to be worried.” Mark’s tone was ominous. “There were only two other survivors of her pack when she fled. I have no idea how large her pack is now. I can only surmise that she’s increased her pack and that they’re living somewhere in this area.”
He brought up another map that showed an overhead view of the forest. They covered a large area. Buildings were dotted here and there within the search zone, but ours was missing.
