Hunter Wars Omnibus Edition (Books 1 - 3)

by SD Tanner

  ‘Will you come to bed?’ She asked.

  Not sure what she was suggesting, he replied, ‘Err…I can sleep on the sofa chair.’

  Sounding dubious, she asked, ‘Why? You are a big man, but this is a big bed.’

  He wasn’t going to say no to her offer and he pulled off his shoes and ACU pants, climbed into the bed and lay on his side looking at her. Still unsure of where the night was going, he waited to see what she would do next.

  She turned to him and asked, ‘Why will you send the shooters here?’

  ‘To protect ya from the livin’,’ he replied plainly.

  Looking puzzled, she said, ‘I will use the hunters to protect us.’

  Studying her new face closely and deciding she was still beautiful, he asked, ‘What if you’re not here?’

  Looking surprised, she asked, ‘Where would I be?’

  ‘With us,’ he replied. ‘We need you.’

  Nodding, she asked, ‘For your mission?’

  He replied honestly, ‘Yes. The mission ain’t really doable without you and the Infected. We’re runnin’ outta road, honey. The hunters were bad enough, but Ruler has changed the dynamic for the worse. We mighta made it if we had the Infected, but now even with ‘em, Ruler is hell bent on screwin’ us.’

  She sighed and said, ‘Ruler is wrong. He has no right to kill. I need to protect my kind. They need me too.’

  He understood her point, but he said, ‘Not as much as we need ya. We need the Infected to work with us. I can rebuild the Ranch and I can give ya combat shooters to keep it safe, but I need ya all to help us too.’

  She nodded and said, ‘Ruler is enemy. Super hunters are his dogs. They are enemy. We are happy to kill, but do not know how.’

  ‘Ya help us clear sites and find the super hunters and we kill ‘em,’ he explained simply.

  Nodding again, she asked, ‘Can we still live here?’

  He smiled and said, ‘Of course ya can. We’ll make sure ya have the Ranch to call home and somewhere to live at the bases. Whatever ya want, Ip, ya can have it. We need you and your people for the mission, but I want ya to be happy as well.’

  Suddenly looking lost again, she asked, ‘Why do you care how I feel?’

  Studying her, he said honestly, ‘I told ya. You can find more than one person to share a life with, but there’s only one person who makes life worth livin’. You’re that person for me. Ya make my life worth livin’.’

  She sighed and said softly, ‘You are like rain. I did not remember rain. Then it fell. I knew the smell, how it touched my skin and that it pleased me.’ Stretching out her hand, she stroked his chest and said, ‘I know the smell of you, your touch, how you feel and that you please me.’ Sighing again, she said softly, ‘You are like rain.’

  Enjoying her touch, he said gently, ‘It’s a start. I love ya, honey, and I’m not goin’ anywhere. Take your time. I waited before and I’ll wait again.’

  Smiling at him, she then flicked the light off over her head and rolled over to sleep. Lying behind her, curled into her back, he said softly, ‘Do ya remember when I died?’

  She rolled back to face him and lying side by side, facing one another in the dark, he said, ‘I had a dream. Ya told me we were the four horsemen. Do ya remember that?’

  Sleepily, she said, ‘No. I do not dream.’

  He guessed she didn’t know what he was talking about and said, ‘They scanned your brain when you’re sleepin’ and ya don’t dream. You’ve got no filter on your subconscious, or that’s what Lydia thinks anyway.’

  She yawned and said, ‘You are a horseman.’

  Surprised, he asked, ‘Why do ya say that?’

  ‘You ride a horse,’ she replied simply.

  He laughed softly and said, ‘Not that kinda horseman, honey. There’s another kind. It’s in the Bible’

  ‘What is the Bible?’ She asked.

  ‘It’s a book, honey. A really old book,’ he replied. ‘I jus’ wondered if ya knew about the dream. Pax had a weird dream about BD. He thinks they weren’t dreams, but I kinda disagree.’

  Sounding very sleepy, she replied, ‘I know BD.’

  In the dark, he frowned and said, ‘Ya can’t know her, honey. Ya never met her and she’s dead.’

  Now sounding half-asleep, she said, ‘She was at the blue house. She is pretty.’

  ‘Ya mean in Folkston?’ He asked. ‘At the Inn?’

  ‘Mmm…I do not know,’ she mumbled. ‘The bath with no water.’

  He said, ‘You were in Folkston and Pax dreamt BD was there, but she was already dead by then.’

  Ip didn’t reply and realizing she was already asleep, he reached across and lightly stroked her hair and sighing contentedly he fell into a deep sleep.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX: The price is right (Pax)

  ‘Are ya sure about this, Gears?’ He asked genuinely concerned.

  Sure, he was relieved they escaped Ruler’s trap, but he wasn’t sure the Infected were reliable and he wasn’t as convinced as Gears that new Ip was the real deal. Having lost forty-nine shooters when they last attempted to take the island, he wasn’t too happy about going back there, even if they were bringing the army of the weird with them. When they cleared off leaving them high and dry, they broke trust with him and the fact that new Ip told them to leave the CDC made her unreliable as well.

  Standing on the dock at the Naval base, watching the trucks being loaded into the ferry, Gears turned to him and said, ‘It’ll be fine, Pax. This was the plan all along. We work as a team with the Infected.’

  Feeling frustrated, he said bluntly, ‘I know what the damn plan was, Gears, but how well did that work out last time? I doan wanna lose any more of my people.’

  Nodding, Gears said, ‘I feel ya, but the plan remains the same. It jus’ took a few more steps is all.’

  He shook his head and said stubbornly, ‘Why do ya trust ‘em? I get new Ip came through for us at the missile silo, but we doan know this woman.’

  Sighing, Gears replied steadily, ‘Yeah, ya do, Pax. It’s Ip.’

  He thought Gears was losing it and said rudely, ‘Yer fuckin’ crazy, bro’. Ya wouldn’t believe I spent the night with BD’s ghost, but you’ve got no problems with reincarnation. Yer losin’ ya fuckin’ marbles.’

  Gears waved his hand dismissively and said, ‘We gotta go, Pax. Ya can bitch at me on the ferry.’

  Still annoyed with his brother, he shouted, ‘Oh I plan to, Gears!’

  He argued with Gears all the way to the island, but there was no budging the big gorilla. Gears was convinced this latest blonde was Ip and he was prepared to forgive the army of the weird for leaving them. He didn’t understand. Over the years, he learned his over-sized brother was the least forgiving and most reality bound man he’d ever met, yet here he was believing in the paranormal and forgiving people who let him down badly.

  The island looked exactly as they left it, once again, they pulled into the marina, and once again, they unloaded ten assault vehicles with ten shooters in each. It felt like Groundhog Day and he worried they couldn’t change the inevitable. Having no fear of the hunters, the Infected didn’t bother travelling in the assault vehicles and he walked with them while they headed to the small buildings on the marina. Just like the original Ip, the new Ip happily ran in and out of the buildings killing hunters.

  As Ip worked, she tried to teach the Infected what to do and pointing to the hunters, she said, ‘Talk to them.’

  Her small team of Infected included Georgia, John, Malcolm and Tina and nodding, Georgia asked, ‘And say what?’

  Ip tilted her head to the side and said, ‘Hunters are stupid. Talk stupid. Say run.’ With her hand, she touched her head and then pointed to the hunters and said, ‘Touch the mind. Show them. They will do what you show them.’

  He watched in fascination as each of the Infected tested their telepathic minds on the hunters and could see they didn’t all have the same impact. Georgia and John could drive the hunters out o
f the buildings, but Malcolm and Tina had almost no effect on the hunters.

  Remembering how little effect Isaac had on the hunters, he asked curiously, ‘Why are some of ya better at doin’ that?’

  Ip replied plainly, ‘Strength of will and mind. Some have more. Some have less.’

  That made sense to him and he said, ‘Some of ya doan have a killer instinct.’

  Nodding, Ip replied, ‘Not all humans will kill.’

  ‘But you do,’ he said.

  ‘I am death,’ Ip replied plainly.

  Having cleared the marina of hunters and leaving a secured perimeter around the ferry, they headed back to the hotel where they lost the forty-nine shooters. Once again, they were standing outside the hotel entrance and he asked, ‘Can ya see the super hunter?’

  ‘I see what he sees. I do not know where he sees,’ Ip replied.

  Gears touched her arm and asked, ‘What can he see?’

  ‘Can he see us?’ He asked. Turning to Georgia, he asked, ‘Can ya all see the super hunter?’

  Ip grumbled, ‘Too many questions.’ Then, taking a deep breath, she said, ‘Ruler and his dogs are dark stars. The Infected do not see them. This dark star does not see you. He sees green.’

  Nodding, Gears said, ‘Then he’s outside somewhere. He might not even be close to us. Can ya monitor him, honey?’

  With a disgusted expression, Ip said, ‘Yes.’ Looking unhappy, she added, ‘I do not like dark stars. They are not good.’

  ‘Jus’ do it anyway,’ Gears replied. ‘Please.’

  He smirked and asked rudely, ‘Ya finally learnin’ manners, Gears?’

  ‘Shaddup Pax,’ Gears said bluntly.

  Ignoring their bickering, Ip said, ‘Tell me what you want.’

  He, Captain Ted and Gears had argued at length about how to clear such a large island. They concluded they should secure the hotel, clear the town and then work their way across the island. Assuming the Infected could do what Ip was able to do, then they should be able to hold each area as they cleared it, but it was a big assumption. They’d never worked with them and they’d never tried to clear such a large island of hunters. It wasn’t going to be easy and he figured they were going to learn a lot by trying. He hoped he wouldn’t lose any more of his people.

  ‘We need ya to clear the hotel, so we’re not jus’ sittin’ here with our asses hangin’ out,’ he explained. ‘Once we’ve done that, we’re gonna put ya into teams with us and clear the town buildin’ by buildin’. Once we got a decent perimeter, we’ll do the rest of the island.’

  Gears nodded and added, ‘But we ain’t done anythin’ as big as this before, so it’s gonna take time and we’re gonna need to adapt our tactics along the way.’

  Ip turned to the Infected and said, ‘Do what they ask.’

  He turned to the Infected and said, ‘Two of ya need to stay out here with the shooters, jus’ in case any shit kicks off.’

  The four Infected looked at him expectantly and realizing he would need to choose who stayed and who went, he said, ‘Georgia and Tina. Stay with us.’

  Captain Ted was ordering shooters to the front and back of the building and they waited to deal with any hunters that might run out. Ip and Malcolm headed into the hotel and again he saw she was excited to hunt, whereas Malcolm lacked her enthusiasm. It didn’t take long before several hunters ran from the entrance of the hotel and becoming disoriented in the daylight, they were promptly shot down by the shooters. It was time for some payback and he could see the shooters were enjoying the hunt until a hunter emerged, still dressed in ACUs and a tactical vest and all their guns fell silent.

  ‘Shit,’ Gears muttered, as he pulled up his M4A1 ready to fire.

  Before he could fire, Ip emerged from the doorway and he shouted, ‘Hold ya fire! Ip, doan jus’ come out front like that. You’ll get yerself shot!’

  Appearing to ignore him, Ip walked over to the shooter now turned hunter and with a gentle touch, she killed him. As he fell to the ground and without comment, Ip turned around and went back into the hotel.

  He walked through their makeshift perimeter and said, ‘Let’s get our man.’

  With several other shooters, he picked up their man and brought his body behind their perimeter and said, ‘We’ll collect ‘em all and we’ll bury ‘em proper.’

  Once the hotel was cleared, they moved the shooters into the building and they began securing the windows and doors so it could be used as a safe base at night. Bringing more shooters from the ferry, they began the laborious process of clearing the buildings around the hotel. As planned, they used four teams to start methodically working their way through the buildings and as each building was cleared, another team boarded up windows and doors to stop hunters from re-entering the site. There was no way they could finish clearing the town in a single day and once they were satisfied the sites were secure, they got ready to return to the ferry for the night.

  Gears walked up to him as the shooters were getting the assault vehicles ready to leave and said firmly, ‘I want that super hunter.’

  Despite the success of the day, he was still annoyed with his brother and said, ‘Yeah, so?’

  Punching him in the arm, Captain Ted said happily, ‘Don’t be such a bitch, Pax. I wanna go hunter huntin’.’

  Snorting, he said, ‘Oh yeah, cos that worked out real well last time. We nearly got our asses ripped off.’

  ‘Shit, Pax, ya turnin’ into a grouchy old woman,’ Captain Ted complained. ‘Nothing happened. We just got a bit dusty. Don’t be such a little bitch.’

  ‘Ya girls getting’ divorced now?’ Gears asked amiably. ‘Trouble in paradise is there?’

  Ip was listening to them and asked, ‘Hunt for the dark star?’

  Smiling at her, Gears said, ‘Yeah, honey. We’re gonna go kill the sonofabitch.’

  Sounding hopeful, Ip asked, ‘Now?’

  Despite himself, he’d enjoyed watching Ip hunt and elbowing her, he asked, ‘Ya like huntin’ do ya?’

  Stepping away from his elbow, she replied, ‘They want to fight. You want to kill.’ Waving at the now boarded up hotel and with a slight pout, Ip added, ‘Only the stupid today.’

  He thought she talked a little strangely at times, but he got the message and said, ‘Bored were ya? And how do ya know ya like hunter huntin’. You’ve never done it.’

  Ip shrugged and he turned to Gears and said, ‘Let’s go hunter huntin’. How are we gonna do this? She doan know where the super hunter is and we dunno how to find it.’

  Rubbing the scar on his face, Gears said thoughtfully, ‘We need to draw it out.’

  ‘No, no, no,’ Captain Ted replied firmly. ‘We are not gonna be bait for you again.’

  ‘Yeah, Gears,’ he replied equally as firmly. ‘Ya conned us into that at the cookie factory. We ain’t fallin’ for it twice.’

  Gears sniffed and said, ‘Huh. It ain’t like ya to learn from ya mistakes, Pax.’

  They’d let Gears use them as bait to draw hunters out at the Yum Yum cookie factory and although no one was hurt, he and Captain Ted agreed Gears was just screwing with them. Giving Gears a filthy look, he said, ‘Yer plans are getting’ so crappy even we ain’t stupid enough to follow ‘em.’

  With a smirk, Gears asked, ‘Did ya jus’ call yourself stupid, Pax?’

  Captain Ted replied dourly, ‘Nah, he just said you’re stupider than he is.’

  While they stood arguing outside the hotel, two hunters jogged towards them and they swiftly aimed their weapons at them, about to fire.

  Batting at the muzzle of his gun, Ip said sharply, ‘Do not shoot them!’

  The hunters drew closer and he saw they were calm, their heads were still and they paced towards them like docile dogs. A short distance away, he saw another hunter calmly jogging towards them like an ugly puppy.

  He called to the shooters, ‘Hold ya fire.’

  While studying the bald hunters around him, Gears asked, ‘Are ya controllin’ ‘em, hon?’ />
  ‘Are you dead?’ Ip asked bluntly.

  He chuckled and said, ‘Ask a stupid question, huh.’

  With a disgusted expression, Captain Ted was studying the hunter next to him and he remarked, ‘This is really fuckin’ weird.’

  Curious, he asked, ‘How are ya doin’ this?’

  Ip shrugged and said, ‘You are pack.’

  He suspected Ip was a bit literal and only answered specific questions and persisting, he asked, ‘Is that what you’re tellin’ ‘em? That we’re part of their pack.’

  Ip answered blandly, ‘They are stupid. I say you are pack. They know you are pack.’

  ‘Like dogs,’ Captain Ted suggested.

  Shaking her head, Ip said, ‘Dogs are smarter. Dogs like humans. They do not.’

  Listening to Ip, Gears suggested, ‘Maybe we can use ‘em like the super hunters do. They can be our guards while we hunt for the super hunter.’

  Frowning, Captain Ted asked, ‘How are we gonna find it, Gears? Walk the island? Offer it a doggy treat?’

  Gears shrugged and said, ‘Drive around until it finds us.’

  In disbelief, he said, ‘That’s still usin’ us as bait, Gears.’

  Chuckling, Captain Ted said, ‘Yeah but at least Gears is bait too. That’s a step up from the cookie factory.’

  Still shaking his head, he replied, ‘Not a big enough step, Ted. Ya need to raise the bar.’

  After sending the shooters back to the ferry and taking a driver and a gunner with them, they proceeded to drive around the island as dusk fell and Ip brought their hunter guards with them in the assault vehicle. The vehicle slowly rumbled down the dirt roads on the island and he studied the hunter opposite him. With its skin drawn tightly across its face, the cheekbones jutted out creating a sharp line down the side of its face and the bony contours of its skull stood out. Its eyes were a murky brown and its wet mouth hung slightly open. The hunter was hairless and naked with its arms resting on each leg. Its nails were long, filthy and torn. Up close, it was hard to believe if given the chance, it would start to vibrate and erupt into manic violence. Under Ip’s control, the hunter looked like the dumb docile dog she believed it was.