by Ellis, Tara
“Sure!” Devon yelped. “Let’s all worry about the dog, because my ass isn’t exposed at all!” In spite of his wisecrack, Devon was actively pushing Marty down as he spoke, and using the dog’s back as a brace for his shooting elbow.
“They’re armed,” Eddy said with way too much calm.
“I see it!” Jason snapped, and sped up even more.
Peta strained to look beyond Devon, and saw that the men were right. The unmistakable shape of a long rifle or shotgun barrel was sticking out the passenger-side window, backlit by the headlights, and their occasional brake lights.
“Should I shoot?” Devon demanded, close to panic. “I don’t know what to do here, guys!”
Before Jason or Eddy could answer, the lights abruptly retreated as their pursuers slowed. In the ensuing darkness, Peta blinked rapidly to adjust to the change, and looked over at Jason. Her optimism was crushed when she saw the expression on his face.
“Get ready!” He yelled, as he tapped the brakes and yanked at the steering wheel.
Peta didn’t understand, but threw her hands out at the dashboard, anyway. Then, she saw a second vehicle moving out from her side of the jungle, blocking the road.
Somehow, Jason realized the ambush was coming, but it wasn’t soon enough. It had been set up to occur in the middle of a sharp curve, and as he attempted to avoid the obstacle, they were forced to veer toward a massive tree.
They were already braking, and the tires locked up as they went into a wild skid. Jason turned into it and would have brought them to a controlled stop…but they were out of room.
The impact was sudden and crushing. The air was knocked from Peta’s lungs as the space was filled with the sounds of screams and tortured metal. She was aware of the rifle cutting into her hands, braced against the dash. The seatbelt felt like it was tearing her in half. She lost all orientation, and the sense of weightlessness overcame her as the Jeep left the ground and rotated, taking them all with it.
She was upside-down. Suspended, her face pressed into the frame of a window.
Drip…drip…drip.
Moans. A grunt from somewhere further away.
Drip…drip…drip.
Peta was conscious, but the simple sound tore her from the present and thrust her back into the scene from her nightmares with enough force to disorient her. She was trapped back there. In the wreckage of her memory.
Drip…drip…drip.
The blood. So much blood, pooling beneath her face.
She tried to turn her head. Couldn’t.
Whimpering, Peta forced herself to look over toward the driver’s side of the crushed car. Where her fiancé had been. Where she should have been that night, if it hadn’t been for a penchant to celebrate too much.
A hand.
His hand. With the silly mood ring she’d bought him earlier that day still on his thumb.
The coppery smell of blood filled her nostrils, mixed in with hot oil and gasoline.
She had to look.
Crying out from the pain it invoked, Peta turned her head just enough to follow the hand to his arm, and to…
Gasping, Peta closed her eyes against the imagery of what was left of his face, entangled with the steering wheel in impossible ways.
Drip…drip…drip.
The darkness was a welcome escape. The darkness into the deep recesses of her mind where she didn’t have to think about anything. Her lips moved as she accepted the truth that he was gone. “Ken.”
“Peta!”
Ken? No, that wasn’t his voice.
A banging and then grinding sound as things were pulled and shoved.
That wasn’t right. That wasn’t what happened. She had lain there, trapped in the wreckage with his body for hours before someone found them.
“Peta!” Someone was touching her face. She tried to open her eyes, but the layers of reality were thick and hard to navigate. Were they open? She thought she saw shadows.
A barking dog.
“Devon!” A boy’s voice.
The pressure against her chest was relieved, and someone was holding her shoulders. “Ken?” No, it wasn’t. It couldn’t be Ken, he was—
“Peta, listen to me. Listen to my voice and breathe with me.”
She knew the voice. It wasn’t Ken, but Peta trusted him. She breathed.
“There you go,” he encouraged.
Hands on her face again, touching her scar. The scar. From the past. From over five years ago. Then how—
Peta opened her eyes then, and saw Jason staring earnestly at her, blood smeared across his forehead. She wasn’t in Australia, on a backcountry road. She was in Suriname, South America. They’d been driving—
Gasping, she reached up and clasped the hands on her face, further grounding herself.
“Peta,” Jason urged. “I need you to move. Can you do that?”
Move. They were being chased. Taking another shuddering breath, the recent memories came flooding back and her vision sharpened. The ambush. The accident.
Adrenaline coursed, and Peta pulled at his hands as her eyes widened. “Is everyone okay? What—” His hands fell away and she looked around, searching for the others.
She was outside the Jeep, draped against Jason’s bent knee and cradled protectively. She could move. Pain radiated from her right arm and chest, but she thought she could move.
“They’re okay,” Jason whispered, helping her to sit up on her own. He pulled at something, and she saw the AR drag across the ground toward him. “You have to get to the trees.”
Marty ran up to them, followed closely by Tyler and Devon. Peta couldn’t tell how badly they were hurt in the muted light of the shattered headlights from the Jeep, but Devon was limping.
“They’re coming,” Eddy barked, from where he was kneeling by the wreckage, holding the other rifle.
Half-dragging her, Jason led Peta behind the tree they’d crashed into and pushed her down behind it. “Stay here and don’t come out, no matter what happens.”
He didn’t wait for her to answer before he sprinted away in a low crouch. As Peta watched him run toward the approaching danger, she knew with certainty that her past was finally buried where it belonged. That woman was gone, that life was gone, and the man had been gone for a long time.
Reaching behind her, she felt along the waistline of her jeans until her hand encountered the holster she’d gotten used to wearing, nestled in the small of her back. The Glock was still there. Unholstering the gun, she pushed away from the tree and crept forward until she had a clear view of the road. She wasn’t about to hide while the only people left in her life came under fire.
The only people she cared about.
Chapter 29
JASON
Libi Nati Preserve
Suriname, South America
Jason grabbed at Tyler’s arm and yanked him backwards, away from the light of the Jeep. “Get Marty, and take cover with Peta!” Releasing the teen, he didn’t wait for a confirmation. There wasn’t time.
Too much of it had passed already, though it was only a few minutes since the ambush. Jason could beat himself up later for driving right into it, if he was alive long enough to regret it.
“How’d they know we were coming?” Devon whispered as he dropped down next to Jason.
They were positioned off the side of the road, before the wreckage, in the middle of the curve and about fifty feet away from the car used to block them. He watched with satisfaction as Eddy took up a spot on the opposite side of the road, near the apex of the curve.
“I don’t think they’re here specifically for us,” Jason said, mulling the scenario over in his head. “This is a standard guerilla tactic. They’re probably after our supplies and weapons, and I’m guessing they’ve chosen this spot for a reason.” He looked back down the road, toward the preserve. “Maybe the Libi Nati has become known to the local survivors for having resources.” In spite of their current situation, he found the thought encouraging.
“Maybe they’re the security system for the preserve,” Devon suggested.
Jason shook his head. “No, this isn’t security. This isn’t about deterring people. It’s about killing and conquering. And I’m guessing their numbers are very limited, or else they would have had shooters ready to take us as soon as we crashed. Instead, whoever moved that car is waiting for the people in the other vehicle to get into place.” He smacked Devon on the arm. “I imagine seeing that AR you had pointed out the window made them a little wary about rushing in.”
Devon’s grin came out more like a grimace. “Good to know my heroics count for something, but I’m not sure why Eddy got to take it.”
Jason wasn’t about to explain field tactics to him. “Just stick with me, and watch our back. They could try and circle around.”
Movement. Behind the car.
He slammed a hand down on Devon’s back as the first shot ricocheted off the ground a few feet in front of them. Instead of reacting, Jason took a steadying breath and lined up the shot through the open windows of the car.
Crack!
The shadow disappeared.
Throwing himself backwards as a fresh round of gunfire erupted from another location and peppered the foliage where he’d just been, Jason flipped over onto his stomach and dragged Devon along with him. They crawled behind a tree, and he ignored the smooth skin of whatever creature slithered away from under his hand.
Rifle fire. Eddy was exchanging shots with them. It sounded like one of them had a standard bolt-action, while the other was some sort of large-caliber pistol capable of more rapid fire. The attackers were vastly outgunned, and already down a man.
“Lay some fire for me,” Jason whispered, getting ready to run.
“Huh?” Devon was staring at him, looking somewhat in shock. “You’re gonna have to be more precise.”
“Point that gun around the tree, and shoot anywhere except at Eddy while I get into a better position.” When Devon nodded in understanding, he waited for the first shot and then pushed away from the tree.
The distraction was successful, and Jason moved rapidly through the underbrush until he was abreast of the car. Ignoring the body, he crept silently past him and focused on the area across the road, where the shots were coming from.
Dropping to a knee, he used the infra-red sight to confirm his targets before opening fire. Two short bursts and the threats were eliminated.
The silence that followed was heavy, and Jason took a moment to accept that even in a world where the only opponent should be the elements, there would always be a more lethal adversary. It was in their nature, and he knew better than anyone how fear and desperation drove humankind toward the more primal, predatory instincts of survival.
Hanging his head, he fell back into his old routine of pushing it down. Burying the questions, remorse, and guilt into a tight little ball of darkness he would slowly release when he was in a bright enough place to cope with it.
“Jason!” Peta called out from somewhere nearby, sounding alarmed. “Jason, are you okay?”
Pivoting, he could just make out her shadow as she scurried onto the road, gun drawn and moving in an arc, looking for potential targets. He grinned. Good to know she followed orders so well. “Don’t shoot me.”
Freezing, Peta’s shoulders sagged as she processed it was Jason that had spoken. “You okay?”
Stepping closer, he reached out and gently pushed the muzzle of the Glock toward the ground. “Yeah. I think it was just the three of them, but we should get moving ASAP, just in case there’s more coming.”
Peta looked down at the body lying a few feet away, and then back at Jason. “I don’t understand this.”
“Good,” he said sharply. “I hope you never do.” Bending down, he retrieved the hunting rifle the man still had clasped in his cooling hands.
Eddy was already waiting near the Jeep, holding an extra rifle. “They didn’t have much,” he explained as Jason and Peta approached.
Devon was pulling things out of the wreckage, and Jason was relieved to see Marty running over, with Tyler close behind him. It was a small miracle none of them had been seriously injured in the crash, but he knew they’d all be feeling it once the adrenaline wore off.
“Are they dead?” Tyler was staring at Jason. He didn’t sound accusatory, but the brutal encounter had left the teen visibly shaken.
“They’re taken care of,” Jason said flatly, burying his fingers into the thick hair of Marty’s neck. Turning from the eager kisses of the dog, he grabbed at a backpack Devon tossed his way and then handed it to Tyler. “Come on. We need to start walking.”
“We have no idea how far it is,” Eddy said as he shrugged into a pack. “We could try and maneuver their truck around this. They must have left it close by.”
“No.” Jason hefted the last bag and started around the front of the mangled Jeep, with Marty close at his heels. “It’ll take too long to move the car and all of this other debris out of the way. The guy in Bottopassi said it wasn’t far. We need to keep moving.”
“Maybe he was a part of this,” Devon suggested, as he fell in next to Jason. He was still limping, but it didn’t seem to be slowing him down too much.
“I don’t think so,” Peta said. “I think—”
The sound of a gunshot in the distance interrupted Peta, and they all stopped to listen. Jason cocked his head, and when the second shot was quickly followed by a third, he started to run. “It has to be coming from the preserve!” he shouted.
Jason used the light on the scope of his rifle to lead the way. It wasn’t much, but his eyes had adjusted enough to make good use of it. He knew from experience that brighter lights were counterproductive, and blinded you peripherally.
He tried to control his thoughts as the minutes and dense jungle flashed by. The possibilities for the gunfire were limitless, and he had to maintain control if he wanted to be of any help to whoever was under attack. Whether it was all part of a greater scenario that involved the men in the truck, or something separate, didn’t matter. They’d have to approach with caution and try to interpret as much as they could before getting involved.
“Jason!” Peta whispered, close to his elbow.
Impressed she’d kept up, he glanced back and saw that both Tyler and Devon had fallen behind to the point that he couldn’t see them. Stopping, he bent over and sucked in ragged breaths as Marty circled his legs. His left shoulder hurt like hell, as well as his head. He’d hit them both pretty hard, but the pain was just starting to blossom. Peta was favoring her right arm, and it all reminded him that not only was he the only former soldier there with combat experience, but they were all injured.
Crack!
The shot was close. Turning back around, Jason was certain he could see light up ahead. Turning his flashlight off, he confirmed there was definitely a glow coming from the trees.
“Eddy!” he whispered, beckoning the man to his side. He wasn’t sure if he could call Eddy his friend anymore, but he trusted him. It was a conviction fostered in Jason from years of wartime, and knowing when to listen to your gut. And in their current situation, being devoid of strong emotions was an advantage.
“Peta, stay here with Marty and wait for Tyler and Devon,” Jason ordered. “And don’t argue with me. I need you to watch our backs, as well as stay out of harm’s way. I have to know you’re safe.”
Staring at him, the unusual woman he’d come to respect more than anyone else he’d ever known, drew her brows together in consternation. Then, her features softened as she grasped his meaning. She took a step back and simply nodded, letting his arm go.
Guided by the light up ahead, Jason and Eddy moved swiftly over the last hundred yards, before the jungle fell away to reveal a large parking area filled with several vehicles. It was lit by some outside lights on a sprawling rambler, and the purr of a generator explained the source of power. Straight in front of them was a large barn, its double doors standing open.
Jas
on took it all in and processed the scene in a matter of seconds, but his brain failed to make sense of the details. He blinked, trying to properly interpret what he was seeing slinking around one of the cars.
Jaguars. Several of them. Large, predatory cats with sinuous muscles, and moving with a languid power that was enough to scare the most heavily armed hunter.
A loud, piercing scream made the cats flinch, and they all turned as one toward the barn.
A girl. It was a girl screaming. Jason recognized the stark terror of someone who believed they were about to die, and he’d never been as certain that he was there to stop it from happening.
Opening fire on the jaguars, Jason ran for the barn. As he reached the doors, he heard Eddy’s weapon erupt, and knew he’d do what was necessary to keep them away.
Jason burst through the entrance and into the murky interior, searching for the source of the cries for help. He stumbled over the body of a jaguar, and as he regained his footing, he saw another off to his left, ready to pounce.
A single shot to the head stopped its forward momentum, and as it dropped, he saw her. A girl with flaming red hair just like her mother’s, crouched with her back to a hay bale and holding a gun like a club, ready to fight for her life.
“Jessica!” Jason shouted, glancing around first to confirm they were alone, before lowering the AR.
Shaking, the girl’s eyes flitted from Jason, to the dead cat, to the space behind him, and then back again. The empty gun dropped to the floor with a clatter by her bare feet, and she hugged herself, shaking. “How…how do you know my name?”
His voice hitching, Jason swallowed down the rising sob while struggling to keep his composure. Smiling at the girl, he reached out a hand. “Because I’m your father.”
THE END
EXTINCTION Book 5
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