Drifter

by Leslie Georgeson

  Mitch would never give anyone that kind of power over him again.

  He was meant to be alone.

  So alone he would be.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Kate woke abruptly, the hair on her arms standing on end. She’d had the nightmare again, the one that had haunted her for ten years, ever since she’d stepped out of that cave and found her little brother’s remains. Hyena laughter faded into the background as she gradually came awake and tried to get her bearings.

  The crater. The dinosaur bones. Kate remembered now. She was in Mitch’s friend’s fossil find.

  Strange growls came from somewhere in the crater, echoing off the walls. She shivered.

  That wasn’t a hyena.

  She reached for the kerosene lantern on the nightstand, fumbling with the pack of matches in the dark until she was able to finally strike one and light the lantern. Shadows danced eerily along the dirt and rock walls, the dinosaur bones creepily enslaved in the earth all around her.

  Kate wasn’t a superstitious person, but at night, this place gave her the creeps. She could understand Ethan’s fascination with dinosaurs, but living in a giant dinosaur grave was a bit unnatural. Creepy.

  Kate slid out of the bed and pulled on a pair of jeans from her pack.

  The snarls and growls came again from somewhere down one of the tunnels, making goosebumps jump to attention on her arms again. What the heck was that?

  Mitch had left her alone in the bathroom hours ago. He’d warned her off and walked away. And that had been right after pulling her into the bath with him. Jerk. He was hot, then cold. Confusing as hell. Kate had taken the lantern and found her way back to Ethan’s bedroom and gone to bed. She’d cursed her attraction to him and his confusing behavior. Men!

  She’d been plagued by nightmares all night, then had woken abruptly to these strange growls. Where was Mitch now?

  Kate finished dressing. She snatched up the lantern and went to investigate.

  She cautiously moved down the first tunnel, searching. She found herself back in the bathroom and turned around and went back. She took the next tunnel, slowly, cautiously, and came to an abrupt halt when she reached the end.

  The tunnel opened into a large room with a table filled with fossils. This must be where Ethan conducted his research. Tunnels veered off into several different directions. Dinosaur bones were encapsulated in the walls, the floor and the ceiling all around. Mitch stood at the opposite end of the room, near a dark tunnel, surrounded by strange, reptilian-like creatures that growled and snarled at him. The beasts were each about the size of a medium-sized dog and looked like large lizards. They were stocky, scaly-skinned, with frills around their necks and elegant, dragon-like heads. They ranged in color from orange-red to blue-green to brown-gray.

  Kate let out a soft gasp. What were they? Drifters?

  The creatures all turned toward her, their eyes glowing yellow in the semi-darkness.

  “Kate, don’t move!” Mitch shouted. “Hold very, very still. They’re in hunting mode and will kill anything they can catch.”

  Kate swallowed hard. One of the creatures lunged toward her, lifting the frill on the back of its head. It paused a few feet away and hissed, spraying a fume of spittle at her.

  Kate stumbled back, her heart squeezing in terror.

  The beast growled, its eyes flashing yellow as it studied her.

  “Goddammit, Kate! I said don’t move!”

  Kate had never seen a drifter before, but she had no doubt she was looking at them now. What else could these things be?

  Oh. My. God.

  “What are they doing in this crater?”

  “It’s one of their lairs. They sleep here during the day and come out at night to hunt.”

  Kate shivered. “Ethan lives with drifters?”

  Mitch made a sound in his throat. “Sort of. I’ll try to distract them while you run. Go to the bathroom and hide in the tub.”

  Kate pulled her gaze from the drifter that was slowly moving closer to her, eyeing her intently, and glanced at Mitch.

  “The bathtub?”

  “Yes. They don’t like the cast iron for some reason. It deters them. That’s why Ethan found a cast iron tub and brought it down here so it can be used for emergencies.”

  Kate glanced back at the drifter that was obviously stalking her now. Emergencies? Certainly having drifters living in your cave with you would be a constant emergency. This Ethan guy must not be all there in the head.

  Wait a second, why weren’t the beasts attacking Mitch?

  “Why aren’t they attacking you?”

  Mitch sent her an impatient look. “Because I’m one of them now. I’ve been bitten multiple times and they’re not in recruit mode. They’re hungry. They want to eat. I give off a different scent, a different vibe than you do. You’ll make a perfect meal for them.”

  Kate shivered. She wasn’t sure if she understood all that, but he seemed to know what he was talking about, so she believed him.

  Mitch flashed across the room, teleporting between Kate and the drifter. “Go,” he whispered. “Hide in the tub and don’t come out until I tell you to.”

  The drifter fluffed its frill at Mitch and hissed, spraying spittle at him. Mitch jumped at the beast, waving his arms. The drifter let out a low snarl and backed away.

  “Go, Kate!”

  Kate spun on her heel and raced back down the tunnel, the lantern swinging back and forth in her hand and creating eerie shadows along the walls. She reached the bedroom, then turned right. Wait, or was it left? Which tunnel led to the bathroom? Disoriented by fear, she glanced one way, then the next, trying to remember which tunnel led to the bathroom. She finally decided to just take the nearest tunnel and ran.

  The tunnel was long and winding. It finally opened into a small kitchen/dining area with a round table in the center and two chairs. A small wooden counter no bigger than three feet long was attached to the wall next to some kind of icebox.

  Crap. Wrong tunnel.

  Kate spun back around.

  “Hurry, Kate!” Mitch shouted from somewhere in the crater. “Two of them broke past me. They’re hunting you!”

  Kate’s heart went wild, slamming into her ribs. She spun around at the sound of a low growl. The drifters stood in the doorway to the kitchen, their eyes glowing yellow as they stared at her.

  Oh crap!

  Kate leapt for the table. Her shin hit the edge and the lantern flew from her hand. It crashed to the floor, the glass shattering and the light going out. Kate scrambled to the center of the small table and glanced around. It was pitch black without the lantern. The only light came from the drifters’ glowing yellow eyes.

  “Kate!” Mitch’s voice was closer. “Where are you?”

  “The kitchen!”

  “I said the bathroom!”

  One of the drifters launched itself into the air, landing on the table next to her. The beast latched on to her hand, its sharp fangs sinking into her flesh. Kate screamed and jerked back. Pain seared her palm. Blood oozed out of the wound. The beast pulled, dragging her off the table. Kate hit the floor, struggling backward, trying to break free. Her pinkie finger had gone numb. Her hand tingled, pins and needles shooting through her other fingers. Dizziness spun in her head.

  The other drifter attacked, its jaws closing around her ankle. Kate screamed again as pain ricocheted up her leg.

  Glowing golden eyes appeared directly in front of her.

  “It’s just me,” Mitch whispered. He turned away. A grunt followed, then something banged into the wall. Was Mitch fighting with them? Kate pulled her injured hand into her lap. It throbbed, but she still couldn’t feel her pinkie. Had the drifter’s sharp fangs severed a nerve? Had the beast eaten her finger?

  The other drifter let go of her ankle. She imagined it attacked Mitch, because more grunts and groans and bangs floated around the room. Kate pushed to her feet and stumbled back down the dark tunnel, feeling her way along the wall, searching
for the bathroom in the dark. She reached the bedroom and took the next tunnel. Finally, she found the bathroom. She crawled into the tub and curled into a ball, blood oozing from her injuries into the cast iron beneath her.

  Sounds of the battle drifted down the tunnel: bangs, snarls, thuds, growls. Was Mitch beating them? Or were they tearing him to pieces? Claws scratched along the dirt and rock floor and around the tub as several of the beasts came into the bathroom, searching for her. Could they smell her? Did the cast iron really repel them?

  Kate closed her eyes and tried to relax, tried to calm her racing heart and slow her frantic breathing.

  Go away. Go away.

  Something sniffed at the base of the tub.

  A loud squeal came from somewhere close by. Then the clicking of something—claws?—and shuffling of bodies as they raced away.

  Dizziness spun in her head. She’d either lost a lot of blood or her terror was making her head spin.

  Footsteps pounded into the bathroom, then Mitch leaned over the tub, his face almost touching hers. “I’m so sorry, Kate. I never meant for this to happen.” There was so much torment in his words that her heart gave a little ping.

  It’s okay. It’s not your fault I took the wrong tunnel.

  “Be strong, Kate. The venom is going to be coursing through your veins now.”

  Venom. That’s why her head was spinning. The drifters’ venom was making her weak and dizzy.

  She closed her eyes again. “It hurts,” she whispered. “But I can’t feel my pinkie finger.”

  He lifted her hand, inspecting it. “Goddammit.” Mitch scooped her up and carried her down the tunnel to the bedroom. “Hang in there, Kate. Just hang it there.”

  He set her on the bed and lifted her injured hand again. He wrapped it with something. A small hand towel?

  Kate could feel her heart beat slowing.

  Slowing.

  Thump thump.

  Thump…thump.

  Thump…

  Then everything went black.

  * * *

  Kate was in a fever-induced coma. She’d been that way for two days now. The venom from the drifter bites was wreaking havoc on her immune system, doing its best to kill her. Her heart beat had slowed so dramatically, Mitch was in constant fear that it would stop, that she would die. But by some miracle, her heart still beat. Slowly. Erratically.

  She was still alive, though death clung to her, trying to steal her away.

  Hang on, Kate. Don’t die on me.

  Kate needed someone with medical training, preferably a doctor, but Maddy was laying low somewhere and he didn’t know where to find her. Claire was a nurse, but she was too far away. If he were to go try to locate Maddy or bring back Claire, Kate could die in his absence. He didn’t dare leave her alone for that long.

  Kate’s strong. She’s a survivor.

  Mitch wouldn’t give up hope that she would come around. He and Ethan had concluded—from their joint years of studying the drifters—that over ninety percent of victims died from the drifter bites. Ethan was the most reliable source of information on the drifters, since he was the only person Mitch knew who actually “lived” with the beasts. He wished Ethan were here to help him treat Kate. He might know something Mitch didn’t. Ethan had saved Mitch the first time he’d been bitten. They’d struck up a friendship afterwards and for a time, Mitch had stayed to help him study the drifters before he’d moved on. Mitch couldn’t imagine where Ethan was right now, but he held firmly to the belief his friend was still alive.

  You’ll just have to treat her on your own.

  Desperation swept through him. All he could do was clean her wounds, keep her hydrated, and try to keep her temperature down. That’s what he’d done to help Gabe when he’d found him wounded and near death out on the savannah five years ago. Gabe had miraculously survived.

  Kate had only a ten percent chance of beating this. The fever that had overtaken her body was a fierce one, raising her temperature to dangerously high levels.

  Be strong, Kate.

  This was why Mitch preferred to be alone. Whenever he befriended someone, they either left or betrayed him. And whenever he loved someone, they died.

  You hardly know Kate, certainly not enough to care about her.

  Right. How can anyone not care about Kate? She’s good and kind. Strong and brave.

  Even as a child, Mitch had felt things more deeply than others. He easily became attached to people and things, and always ended up getting hurt when people left or things died. He hadn’t become an empath until a drifter attack about six years ago, but the “gift” he’d received from that attack had heightened his sensitivity to others, so that he felt their energy, their emotions, and sometimes even their thoughts more profoundly than he felt his own. Sometimes the swirl of emotions became too overwhelming for him and he had to get away from everyone and everything.

  Mitch removed the wet washcloth from Kate’s forehead and checked her temperature again, pressing his palm against her forehead. He guessed her temperature was a little over a hundred, though he didn’t have a thermometer for an accurate reading. He could only go by his own guess. He grabbed a fresh cloth from the end table, dipped it in the bowl of water, then placed it over her forehead to help cool her down.

  Come on, Kate. You can beat this. You’re strong.

  She’s nothing like Lisa.

  Mitch didn’t know where that thought had come from, but it was true. Kate was about as different from Lisa as the desert was from the arctic. Lisa had been fragile, delicate. Afraid of her own shadow. He’d been amazed that she had even survived a drifter bite. Her mental fragility contrasted with her physical strength, for survive the bites she had. Lisa had passed on her night vision to him after they’d bonded and he’d shared his empathy with her. Mitch was convinced the empathy had been part of what had weakened her. She hadn’t been able to carry the burden of experiencing the emotions of everyone around her. It had sapped her strength, making her weak and vulnerable. Mitch had vowed after he lost her that he would never bond with another human female that had been bitten. He refused to pass his empathy on to another woman, refused to make her weak and susceptible to others’ feelings.

  If Kate survives, you have to stay away from her now. You can’t bond with her and risk passing on your empathy. You can’t do that to her.

  It was true. No matter how strong their connection, no matter how much he was drawn to her, Mitch couldn’t bond with her. It wouldn’t be fair to her. If she survived, it would be “hands off” from now on.

  Of course, it was possible he might pass on a gift other than the empathy, but he couldn’t risk it. He couldn’t do that to her. Right now he just had to concentrate on keeping her alive.

  Kate was tough, courageous. She might just beat this. While Lisa had brought out his protective streak, Kate brought out admiration in him. He’d done his best to shield Lisa from danger, but he’d failed her in the most unforgiveable way. In the end, Ronin had won. In the end, Mitch had had no choice but to join the army. But he hadn’t done it because he’d wanted to live. He’d done it so he could exact revenge. Mitch had believed the best way to kill Ronin would be to get close to him. He had soon learned he needed more than that. Ronin was extremely powerful. In order to take Ronin down, Mitch would have to have control of the mountain, a task he couldn’t fulfill without the help of the two brothers, Gabe and Ethan.

  Mitch hadn’t meant to involve Kate in any of this. If she survived, he would teach her how to use the bow and arrow like he promised. Then he would help her find another place to live.

  Once she was gone, he would locate Ethan and meet up with Gabe at the mountain. Since Ronin had lost control of the drifters, it gave them a little more time. And now that Kate had injured Ronin, it gave them just that much more time to get ahead of Ronin.

  Mitch glanced back down at Kate. How long before her fever broke? Would it break? Or would she succumb to it and never open her eyes again?

&nb
sp; Guilt seeped in. This was his fault. What had he been thinking? Taking her to Ethan’s crater to hide out? He knew the drifters were here. But with Ronin hunting them, it had been the only place he could think to hide. He’d been foolish, thinking he could control the drifters, thinking he could protect her from them. He’d been attempting to do just that—control them—when Kate had appeared at the end of the tunnel and all hell had broken loose.

  Mitch had gotten bitten again himself, but he’d already healed. He’d inherited the drifters’ miraculous healing abilities. Small wounds healed over within minutes to hours, depending on how deep. Larger wounds went away within a day or two. Extremely serious wounds disappeared in several days to a week. Death was the only thing he couldn’t come back from.

  Mitch had received a new “gift” from the bites he’d gotten trying to protect Kate. There were times, such as now, that he wished he’d never been bitten, that he was just a man, not a preternatural being.

  And now Kate might die.

  She also might live. And if she lived, she would have a “gift” as well.

  Mitch dribbled a few drops of water into her mouth, then set the cup aside.

  He’d been over confident in his belief that he could protect her.

  But he’d been wrong.

  So very wrong.

  And now Kate would pay the price for his arrogance.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “You’re awake. Finally. Thank God. I thought I was going to lose you.”

  Kate blinked. She tried to sit up, but her head throbbed, so she lay back down. She glanced around, taking everything in. She was lying on a bed in a small, cave-like room. Where was she?

  “Why do I feel so…disoriented?” And hot? She felt feverish and a fierce headache threatened at the center of her skull. “What happened?”

  “You don’t remember?”

  She turned toward the voice. A man stepped up beside the bed. Dark hair, intense, amber-colored eyes with orange flecks in the irises. She stared into those strange eyes with their vertical, reptilian-like pupils. She dropped her gaze, noting a handsome face with well-proportioned features and a smooth, clean-shaven jaw. Kate stared at him. He seemed…familiar. Except, different somehow. She knew those unusual eyes, didn’t she?