Drifter

by Leslie Georgeson

  “Then shouldn’t we be heading toward the mountain?”

  “Yes.” He paused, lifted a hand to brush a lock of hair behind her ear. “As soon as you learn to face your fear of hyenas. Now’s the perfect opportunity for you.” He turned her toward where the pack of hyenas had fled. Kate cringed, her hair standing on end. One of the beasts laughed, its eerie cry making Kate freeze with terror.

  Mitch squeezed her hand. “I’m right here beside you.”

  Kate squinted through the darkness, able to make out the shapes of several heads as the hyenas gazed at her through the tall grass.

  She swallowed hard. “I can’t do it. I can’t.”

  “Yes, you can,” he said gently. “Think of them like large dogs. Tell them to get back out of your way so you can pass.”

  Kate hesitated. “I heard they were more closely related to cats than dogs.”

  Mitch chuckled. “Whatever. Think of them like large house cats then.”

  Kate giggled. She could do that, right? Pretend they were giant house cats? Taking a deep breath for courage, she stepped forward and shouted, “Git back! Get out of here!”

  The hyenas grunted and moaned, then sprinted away.

  A surprised laugh caught in her throat.

  “They ran away. I scared them off.” Awe filled her chest. She’d done that. She’d scared them away.

  Mitch chuckled. “You sure did. There’s the strong woman I fell in love with. I knew she was still in there somewhere.” He kissed her. “See, that wasn’t so hard, was it?”

  “No. I thought it would be scarier, that they would attack me.”

  Mitch grew serious. “Never underestimate a wild animal. Hyenas can be dangerous, but if you fight back, show aggression, they’re more likely to flee than attack. You’re more apt to be attacked by one if you’re injured or lying on the ground. Never show fear, Kate. They can sense it.”

  She nodded and glanced around the dark grassland. The hyenas hadn’t gone far. She could see their dark shapes turning and sniffing at them again.

  “Come on,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her after him. “Let’s see if we can make it to Gabe’s place tonight. By morning I should have my strength back and be able to teleport us at least part of the way to the mountain tomorrow. If we reach Gabe’s tonight, we’ll have a bed to sleep in and a safe place where predators can’t get us.”

  “Hyenas still scare me,” Kate admitted, glancing around warily as she followed him.

  “They scare me, too.”

  What? Was he teasing her?

  “They do?”

  “Yep. Who wouldn’t be afraid of them? They’re creepy bastards.”

  Kate giggled. She squeezed his hand. “Thank you.”

  He turned toward her, his eyes glowing golden in the darkness. “You’re welcome. But you’ll need more than one encounter to get over your fear of them. As we travel to the mountain, I expect we’ll run into more hyenas. You can learn to conquer your fear by chasing them away each time. Okay?”

  Yes. She could do that. With Mitch helping her, supporting her, she could conquer her fear. Gratitude consumed her, followed by happiness. Mitch was such an amazing person. Thanks to him, she was learning to face her fear of hyenas.

  “How far until your friend Gabe’s place?”

  “Not far. I’m guessing a few miles at most. The river’s close. If we follow it, we’ll reach his place soon.”

  He tugged her along beside him and they traveled for several minutes in silence.

  He stopped abruptly. “Shit.”

  Kate’s heart slammed into her ribs. She gripped his arm. “What?”

  “Drifters,” he whispered, wariness in his words. “Thousands of them. Look.”

  Kate scanned the dark savannah, then let out a soft gasp. Literally hundreds and hundreds of pairs of glowing yellow eyes approached through the darkness. She swallowed hard.

  “What do they want?”

  “I don’t know, but we might have to make a run for it. The only place we’re safe out here is up, because they can’t climb.”

  A tree. They needed a tall tree. “Are there any trees close by?”

  “Near the river, yes. It will be a hundred yard dash to safety. I can try to distract them so you can flee.”

  Kate’s breath caught. She wasn’t sure if she could run a hundred yards, especially in the dark with unknown obstacles in her path. “What about you? Will they attack you? Aren’t you one of them?”

  Mitch snorted. “I may be one of them, but that doesn’t guarantee they won’t hurt me. Especially now that the hierarchy has been upset by Ronin injuring Ethan. They may be searching for a new leader. Or they may be in pure hunting mode. I’ve never seen so many at once before. Something strange is definitely going on.”

  Kate shivered. What if the drifters attacked and killed Mitch?

  “I’m scared,” she admitted, recalling the painful bites the beasts had inflicted on her when they’d attacked her in the dinosaur dig. She didn’t want to go through that again.

  “So am I, Kate. But right now we have to push our fear aside and think about surviving.”

  Mitch turned her and pointed her toward the river. “The river’s that way. There’s a grove of fig trees a hundred yards away. If you head in a straight line, you can’t miss the trees.”

  He gave her a gentle push. “Now go!”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  Ronin decided to give up the hunt for Mitchell, at least for the night, and head back to Aftermath. He didn’t have the cheetah’s speed like Mitchell did. And he’d drunk too much alcohol to stay alert. He needed to sleep it off and resume the hunt tomorrow.

  Mitchell knew too much. He had to be eliminated. And that guy Ethan was still out there somewhere. As long as he was alive, Ronin would have competition.

  And then, of course, there was Honest Gabe and the redhead. They were still out there somewhere. Mucking up his plans. There was too much opposition right now.

  Ronin needed more than an army. He needed control of the drifters. If he was going to beat the three cones and take control of the mountain, he needed to kill every last one of them: Honest Gabe, the redhead, Mitchell, and the all-knowing drifter man Ethan. And he couldn’t forget that trader bitch. She definitely had to die. She’d gotten away too many times. Next time he caught her would be the last. He wanted to punish and torture them all. But especially Mitchell for betraying him.

  A drifter could always sense another drifter. It was what had helped Ronin find Mitchell last night. He would scent them all out and find them. He had a feeling Mitchell had gone to the mountain and that Honest Gabe was there as well.

  So Ronin would join them there. He would kill them, then take control.

  But first he needed the drifters on his side.

  He would go back down in that dinosaur dig, deep into the crater, and see if he could somehow communicate to the beasts to come back. If he could gather them all at one location, they might realize he would be a great leader and follow him.

  It was certainly worth a try.

  Lionel appeared at Ronin’s heels as he entered Aftermath. “No sign of the drifter man. We’ve checked everywhere.”

  Ronin paused, turning to face his right-hand man. “You checked the dinosaur dig?”

  Lionel hesitated. “No. We checked everywhere at Aftermath.”

  Ronin scowled. “Go check it. That’s where he came from. He could be back there hiding out.”

  Lionel nodded. “Yes, sir. We’ll get right on it.”

  Ronin snagged his arm as he was about to leave. “What about Maddy? Has anyone seen her?”

  “Uh. No. I think she must have gone to bed.”

  “Check. I need to see her. Tell her to meet me in my room.”

  Ronin strode off. Moments later, he settled into his room, lying back on the bed and trying to relax, but his mind was in a turmoil, too many thoughts swirling around.

  A knock came at his door.

  He sat up
. “Enter!”

  Lionel opened the door and peered into the room. “Maddy’s not in her room. No one has seen her since that drifter man got away.”

  Ronin leapt to his feet. Where did his little sis go? Was she somehow involved in the drifter man’s disappearance? If she was, he would make her pay. He was done protecting her. If she’d betrayed him, then she was on her own.

  What if the drifter man had taken her hostage?

  Anger surged in Ronin’s belly. If that Ethan bastard had taken Maddy, he would suffer. And then he would die.

  “Have the men search for her. I want her brought to me when she’s found. Now get out and let me think.”

  Lionel left, closing the door behind him.

  Ronin glared at the closed door. Then he began to pace back and forth across the room. Was Maddy a hostage right now? Or had she betrayed him? What if he couldn’t trust his own stepsister? When he found Maddy, he would get the truth out of her. And, if necessary, punish her accordingly. If she’d betrayed him, he would kick her out of Aftermath to fend for herself.

  But what if she’d been taken hostage?

  Ronin let out a snarl. Taking Maddy hostage was a very bold thing to do. Did that Ethan bastard think he could control Ronin by taking her?

  It was Maddy’s fault Ronin had gone to prison many years ago, because she’d made him care enough to want to seek vengeance against those who’d wronged her. But he’d never blamed her. Not then. And not now. He’d been the one who’d committed the murders. That night had changed Ronin forever. That night had turned him into a killer. He could never go back to being the boy he’d once been. Maddy had annoyed the hell out of him from the moment she’d come into his life, a precocious six-year-old who wouldn’t leave him alone. But she’d grown on him over the years, and eventually won his affection. She’d been the only female he’d cared about. His father had told him to be nice to his new stepsister, that she was just a girl and needed him to look out for her. So Ronin had. He’d looked out for her, protected her, until he’d failed. He’d killed for her. And he’d gone to prison for it.

  Guilt nagged at him. He couldn’t hurt Maddy. She’d been his one true friend growing up. She’d always believed in him, even when he hadn’t. She’d never judged him. Not even now. Though he tried to keep the violence away from her, he couldn’t protect her from everything. If she was a hostage right now, it was because of him.

  If you hurt her, Ethan, you’ll die. Painfully.

  But what if Maddy hadn’t been taken hostage? What if she’d betrayed him?

  Ronin swallowed the bile that had risen up his throat. Then he wouldn’t be able to forgive her.

  If she’d betrayed him, it would extinguish what was left of his heart, and rip out the tiny piece of his soul that still remained.

  If she’d betrayed him, he would turn her loose. Wipe himself clean of her.

  And never look back.

  * * *

  Mitch watched as Kate stumbled off, then he turned to face the drifters. He would be smart to flee too, but he wanted to make sure Kate made it to safety first. He could fight them off for a little while if he had to. And he wasn’t convinced they would kill him. Not yet. If they were searching for a new leader, then it was possible Ethan had died, assuming he had been their leader. If that were the case, they might choose Mitch as their new leader, depending on how many he managed to injure or kill. If he proved his strength, his superiority over them, they would worship him and follow him around, waiting for him to tell them what to do.

  But their mannerism was different than Mitch had ever seen before. They approached him cautiously, circling around. They appeared confused. Lost. As if they weren’t sure what to do. He didn’t detect any aggression coming off of them. At least not yet. But he was acting non-threatening, waiting to see what they might do. One wrong move from Mitch could set them off.

  Mitch turned his head slowly, watching them all as they settled around him in a giant swarm of stocky, reptilian-like bodies, rough scales, laid-back frills, long tails, a few soft growls, and many sets of sharp fangs.

  Mitch searched through the beasts again, looking for a sign, a signal of some kind that would warn him of impending danger.

  He turned his head, glancing back toward Kate. She had almost reached the trees now, but she was moving slowly and cautiously, because she couldn’t see in the darkness. He worried that she might run into a predator and be killed while he was over here, standing in the center of thousands of drifters.

  Mitch took a step toward Kate, testing the drifters to see what they would do. A few of them flipped up their frills in warning and hissed. Most of them stepped back, bowing their heads and moving out of his way.

  Feeling confident, Mitch marched forward into the fray of beasts. They scattered out of the way with a few hisses and snarls, then closed in behind him, following at his heels.

  Interesting. They appeared to be looking for a leader, yet they hadn’t exactly singled him out yet. They were testing him, seeing if he was “leader worthy”. They were seeking guidance, someone or something to direct them in what to do.

  What the hell had happened? Had taking Ethan out of the crater confused them?

  He continued striding toward Kate, confident now that the drifters wouldn’t try to kill him. He had no idea if they would harm her, so he hung back and waited until she was safely up in a tree before he reached her.

  Kate glared down at him. “I’m getting tired of climbing trees. Is it safe to come down now?”

  Mitch glanced back at the thousands of drifters that had followed him. “I think so, yeah. As long as you stay close to me, you should be safe.”

  Kate descended the tree. Mitch took her hand and led her away, following the river toward Gabe’s place. The drifters trailed after them, their eyes glowing eerily in the darkness. Kate kept turning and glancing back at them. Her fear flowed into Mitch, but it was quickly overtaken by her determination, which made him smile. Kate was one tough woman.

  About an hour and a half later, they reached Gabe’s place. It was deserted, but Mitch hadn’t expected anyone to be there. Gabe and Claire and Honor should be at the mountain by now, waiting for them.

  Mitch led Kate up the stairs of the treehouse. “Come on. Let’s get some sleep. We’ll head out first thing in the morning.”

  The drifters swarmed after them, some entering the yard, others waiting outside the acacia thorn fence.

  “Will they still be here in the morning?”

  “No. They’ll find somewhere to hide out for the day, probably one of the craters. Their eyes are too sensitive to the light.”

  Kate nodded. “They creep me out. I’ll feel better when they are gone.”

  Mitch led her into Gabe’s small bedroom. They slid under the covers and spooned together. It was only a matter of minutes before Kate’s soft breathing indicated she’d fallen asleep. Mitch lay beside her for over an hour, listening to her breathing, holding her body close, but unable to sleep. The urge to hunt pulled at him, probably enhanced by the presence of so many drifters. He fought it back as long as he could, then finally gave up and slipped out of bed. The drifter in him said he needed to hunt. It had been too long.

  He hurried quietly down the steps of the treehouse and made his way through the drifters toward the fence. Slipping outside of the fence, he headed across the savannah, followed by thousands of drifters.

  Unable to resist the urge to hunt.

  He paused briefly when he realized he didn’t have his bow and arrows. Well, shit. How would he hunt without a weapon?

  Mitch glanced around, noting the eagerness of the drifters. They certainly wanted to hunt.

  “Go ahead, guys. I can’t join you tonight.” Mitch turned and headed back inside the acacia thorn fence. There was only one thing he could think of that would erase the desire to hunt.

  Climbing the steps to the treehouse, he slipped back into Gabe’s room. Moments later he was in bed with Kate, pulling her against him. Sh
e turned in his arms, opening her eyes and pressing a kiss to his lips.

  “Where’d you go?”

  “Hunting,” he admitted. “But I don’t have my bow, so I came back.”

  Her eyes opened wide as she came fully awake. “How bad is the urge to hunt?”

  “Bad,” he whispered.

  She swallowed. “Do you need a distraction?”

  “Yes, please.” He couldn’t hide the urgency in his words. Or the desperation. He needed her. Now. “But I can’t guarantee I’ll be gentle. The drifter’s pull is strong. And I don’t want to hurt you.”

  She snuggled closer and pressed her lips to his. “You won’t. I like to feel you, remember? Please don’t be gentle. Give me all of you. Don’t hold back.”

  Mitch growled. He had to remind himself that she wasn’t delicate like Lisa. Kate was tough. That’s why he and she were such a perfect match.

  He latched on to her neck and sucked hard, bringing a moan from her lips. The beast stirred inside him, seeking release. The desire to take her gripped him, urging him to fuck her hard and fast.

  “Mitch,” she gasped.

  “I need you,” he said thickly. “Right fucking now.” Or I might do something I’ll regret. I can’t fight it off anymore.

  “Then take me,” she panted. “Please.”

  They made quick work of their clothes, coming together hungrily. Their passion was fierce, rough, urgent, but Kate met him kiss for kiss, touch for touch, thrust for thrust, and when he reached his release, the beast settled and everything quieted around him. The hunting urge was gone. Kate calmed him, soothed him, freed him from the beast inside. Peace settled around him. He’d never been so content than when he was in Kate’s arms. Where would he be without her?

  He pulled her back against him, spooning tightly together, wanting to feel her softness against him. Never wanting to let her go.

  She was what he needed to keep his humanity.

  “Thank you,” he whispered. “Now I can sleep.”