Devil Hunters

by R. Gualtieri

  She was making frighteningly slow progress, but it was almost pitch-black, the stars only visible whenever the trees would allow it, which wasn’t often. It was just barely enough for her to get her bearings and avoid walking in a circle.

  Truth be told, she was terrified. She wanted to cry out at every cricket that chirped or branch she stepped on. Danni had to keep actively reminding herself that she wasn’t helpless. Even before joining Derek’s team, the woods had nearly been a second home to her. Since then, she’d learned a lot more about following trails, tracking prey, and survival.

  She latched onto that training like a life preserver. Panic was the enemy. It wouldn’t do anything except get her caught or worse. Forcing the fear down, she focused on her other senses. Her eyes were mostly useless out in the dark woods, but she could still hear, smell, and touch.

  At the moment, all she smelled was the brackish water that seemed to be pooling everywhere. She hadn’t seen any dogs during her imprisonment, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any. To be on the safe side, she crossed through several of those pools to obscure her scent trail, using the rifle’s barrel to gauge depth and make sure she didn’t accidentally step into any sinkholes.

  That would be a hell of a shitty way for me to end up...

  Just as she was stepping onto drier ground, the rifle caught on the edge of something. Danni stopped dead in her tracks. It was probably nothing more than a vine, but she bent down and felt ahead with her hands to make sure.

  She touched the rough contours of a braided rope. Definitely not a vine.

  Her hands explored further. It was a snare. No doubt about it. She’d reached the section of forest that the Lesterfields had booby-trapped to either keep unwelcome visitors out or entrap potential victims.

  She had no way of knowing how close she was from where she and the others had been ambushed or how far this minefield stretched, but knowing she’d entered it was enough for now.

  Danni lay down, placed her ear onto the ground, and listened. It was fairly well known that sound carried far in the woods at night. Less common was the knowledge that so, too, did vibrations. It wasn’t entirely unlike putting one’s ear to a railroad track to hear how far off an incoming train was. She covered her other ear so as to blot out the sounds of the forest. At first, all was still, a small relief to her, but then she heard a distant thump. She focused her attention and it came again, then another.

  Danni didn’t consider herself paranoid, but either a herd of deer were trampling through the woods somewhere close by or she was being pursued. Her money was on the latter.

  She was tempted to get back to her feet and bolt, much like the aforementioned deer, but that would be a stupid move. Their knowledge of the surrounding forest as well as their greater numbers gave the Lesterfields the edge. Her only advantage was they didn’t know where she was yet, something she’d certainly give away if she went tearing through the woods like a scared rabbit.

  No. She needed to familiarize herself with the immediate area, make note of other traps to avoid, and then find a spot she could hide or, if it came down to it, defend.

  Danni started to rise, but then remembered the snare again. The Lesterfields would almost certainly know where they’d placed their own traps. But what if some of those traps were moved, even if just slightly?

  It was a long shot – resituating a snare without tripping it and then properly resetting its pin in the dark – but it gave her something to focus on rather than the fear.

  If, in doing so, she managed to take even one of those bastards out of the equation, all the better.

  CHAPTER 33

  Things could not have gone better for Ezekiel Lesterfield had he planned them himself.

  He’d been the one to snap his kin out of their wailing grief once they’d discovered not just Adam’s body, but Nathanial’s as well. He’d done so under the pretense of being strong, of wanting to see justice done before they could be allowed to properly mourn.

  But the truth was, he felt no remorse. With his half-brother dead, that left him in prime position to take over as clan patriarch. Adam had been both strong and crafty, a combination that ensured he’d be calling the shots until such time as he keeled over dead, something none of them had expected to happen anytime soon.

  Not crafty enough, you old buzzard.

  How the girl had managed to do it, he didn’t know. It must have been stupid luck on her part. Perhaps the old man’s lust had gotten the better of him and he’d simply tripped and killed his own fool self. That was the likeliest explanation.

  It was the gunshot outside which had alerted them that something was amiss. They’d found Nathanial just as he drew his last breath. Where Ezekiel had been somewhat neutral regarding their former patriarch, it had been an effort to not smile at Nathanial’s corpse. The boy had been a bully and a fool – a useless one, too. Wasn’t fit for anything but guard duty, and he’d managed to screw that up, too.

  That was the only part that worried Ezekiel slightly. Adam’s death was easy to write off as a freak accident, but Nathanial’s had been deliberate. Though his rational mind insisted the girl would be easily found and subdued, he found himself wondering.

  She was a part of that stupid show, true – nothing more than whorish eye-candy waiting to be made into an honest woman. But when they’d found her and her companions, they hadn’t been sporting cameras and microphones. They’d been outfitted for a hunt, with good, well-cared for equipment. That in itself was strange, but at the time it was easily dismissed in light of the new guns and fine wife they’d captured.

  Now he was forced to consider whether the girl herself was more than meets the eye. If there was even the remote possibility that she could be dangerous, then it wouldn’t do for him to take her as his bride. Ezekiel wasn’t a stupid man. His relatively benign appearance allowed him to be accepted in the outside world, giving him experience far beyond his less conventional-looking family members.

  From a young age, he’d known he wasn’t their match physically, being thin and frail where they were brutish and strong. He’d made up for it by becoming book smart. It wasn’t always an advantage in their ancestral home, but it usually allowed him to think several steps ahead of the others.

  That was exactly what he needed right then. The girl’s unsuitableness as his wife gave him an idea. Claiming the role of patriarch was risky. Some of the more aggressive members of the clan might object and he stood little chance of standing up to them. But if he had strong support backing him up, then his claim would be all the more solid.

  “Jonathan!” he called out, playing the role of the authority figure for both his future standing and to make sure the others didn’t run off into the forest half-cocked, opening fire at every shadow they saw in their quest for vengeance.

  His second cousin came loping over, looking at him questionably. Half of his face was permanently swollen, the eye on that side nearly twice the size of the other and possessed of an odd greenish tint. Though it made him seem as if he were always glaring, the advantage was that it gave him unquestionably good night vision, making him easily the best tracker in the family. Alas, he was also a mute, having been born with no vocal chords.

  “Any sign of our dear lost Sarah?” Ezekiel asked.

  The others swore oaths at the mention of her name, their anger palpable even in the gloom. Jonathan merely nodded, though.

  Over the years, he’d formed a crude version of sign language so as to communicate with the rest of the family. He used it to indicate that he’d found a likely trail, one that led to the southeast.

  “Running, just like a scared rabbit,” his brother Ezra said.

  Ezekiel nodded. “So it would seem. Jonathan, take the point. The rest of you, spread out no more than twenty feet apart. I don’t want anyone running off on their own. And turn those lanterns down for now. We don’t want to mess with Jonathan’s God-given gifts.”

  “The hell with that.
All we need to do is flush her out...”

  “You mind my words,” Ezekiel snapped at his cousin Lemuel. “That girl is armed. You saw what she did to Nathanial. Do you want to join him in meeting the good Lord? Any of you?”

  The collective response was silence. That was good. The longer it took any of them to get their dander up about him giving orders, the more solid his position would be. Now to add a little foundation to shore up things.

  “That’s better. Let’s get going. Keep your weapons up and your eyes open.” The family began to spread out, but before they could fully disperse, he turned to his nephew. “Noah, my boy, walk with me for a moment longer, please.”

  Noah did as told, looming over him in the dark. He was impressive as always, Ezekiel noted, if a little naïve. It was that naivety he was counting on.

  “W-want to find her. Avenge Pa.”

  “And we will find her,” Ezekiel replied, lowering his voice. “But you shouldn’t have your heart set to vengeance.”

  “But...”

  “What’s done is done. Her blood won’t bring back your dear papa, nor Nathanial, both taken before their time. What we need now is to focus on the future. We’re two men short and we lost a mere babe today. Sad as that is, it’s God’s will. But it’s also God’s will that our family continue. In order to do that we must welcome Sarah, and others like her, back into the fold with open arms.”

  Noah opened his mouth and hissed, low and angry.

  Ezekiel was tempted to back up a step, but he held his ground. Noah was part of his plan, but that plan wouldn’t work if the boy thought he was afraid of him. “None of that now. We must put aside our anger and focus on the family.”

  Noah stopped hissing, changing from menacing to petulant in the space of a few seconds.

  “You thought that girl was pretty, right?”

  “Y-yes.”

  “Wanted her for yourself?”

  “Pa p-promised me.”

  “Yes he did, but then changed his mind as was his wont as leader.” He scanned the woods ahead of him, then picked up his pace. He didn’t want them to be left behind. “Keep up with me, boy.”

  Noah walked with him, his hitched breathing becoming louder in the dark woods.

  Now it was time for Ezekiel to spring his trap, the one that would ensure that, when the time came, Noah would stand at his side. The boy was by far the strongest of the clan, even stronger than Adam had been. Gifts as extensive as his hadn’t been seen in generations. He was a thing of beauty despite others labeling him a devil. Ignorant fools and their beliefs, nothing more. “I’ve been thinking. I’m not a strong man, not like your pa, but I have a vision for our family. I want to see us not only survive, but thrive. All of us. I see now that Adam might have been wrong in his judgment. Sarah, she ain’t right for me.”

  “N-nuh?”

  “No. I don’t believe she is. That one is wild. She needs a firmer hand than mine to control her, nurture her. How would you like her as your wife?”

  “Sssarah mine?”

  “Yes, son. I think that would be best. You may need to discipline her, sternly I’d say, for her actions. But I believe that once she is properly broken in, she’ll make a fine wife, and I can think of no finer husband for her than you.”

  “Really?” Noah’s tone was hopeful but reserved, as if he was afraid his prize would once again be snatched away. That was just fine by Ezekiel.

  “I mean it. I foresee many sons in your future by her.”

  Noah’s breathing became more urgent, and Ezekiel could tell he was getting excited at the prospect of making those sons.

  “And there’d be no need to share. I relinquish my claim to her. She’ll be yours and yours alone. There will be no question that when she gives birth, it shall be by your seed.”

  “Y-yes,” Noah hissed.

  “But, I need your help, Noah.”

  “Help?”

  “Yes. I can make this happen for you if I take your father’s place. My word will be law and the others will have to respect that, even if they don’t like it. But I don’t know if they will accept me. Some of them might think they’d make better leaders. If that happens, they might decide to keep Sarah for themselves – your Sarah. I would be powerless to stop them.”

  “No,” Noah said, followed by a low growl. “She’s m-mine. Mine.”

  “I wholeheartedly agree, but in order for her to be yours, you have to convince them that my claim is legitimate. Otherwise I can’t help you.”

  Noah rose to his full height, looking down at Ezekiel with his sharp teeth bared. “T-the family is yours,” he said at last. “Sssarah is m-mine.”

  “Yes she is,” Ezekiel replied with a grin. “Now let’s go find her before she slips away.”

  CHAPTER 34

  “Slow down, boss!”

  As much as he wanted to ignore the advice and keep barreling ahead, Eric knew it would be foolish to become separated.

  The ATVs allowed two riders – one in the front to drive, and one in the back to sweep the woods with the high-powered LED lamps they’d liberated from the storage boxes of each.

  I should remember to thank Jenner for those after we arrest his ass.

  That left two of his men on foot, greatly negating the advantage the ATVs gave them in the first place. Eric had been tempted to leave them behind with the cars, but that would have screwed up his plans for convincing their quarry to surrender via way of their superior numbers.

  As much as he despised the idea of walking in these godforsaken woods, the plan was to ditch the ATVs once they found the camp site – after making sure they couldn’t be reclaimed by their targets in case they doubled back.

  Damned things have to have a distributor cap or something.

  Nice as they were to ride on, he didn’t want Jenner’s team to hear them coming. There was also the swampy terrain to take into account. The ground had been getting increasingly muddier the further in they went. With his luck, they’d end up sinking in a bog.

  He’d been hoping to end this quickly – catch them and make sure their asses got on a plane headed anywhere but here. But now it looked like this was going to be a long slog. Though Eric preferred to end this in a peaceful manner, the longer he was forced to be out in the woods, the less inclined he was to care whether Jenner and his medic were tossed onto a plane with a few extra bruises to make up for the trouble they caused.

  They had just entered a small clearing when Sullivan called from the other ATV, “What’s that?”

  At first, Eric thought it was just a large pile of leaves and was tempted to dismiss it, but then he took a second look and realized it was actually camouflaged fabric – the side of a tent. They’d found the base camp.

  Thank goodness for small favors.

  Eric ordered his men to disembark. They secured the ATVs – fortunately, Hopper seemed to have some insight into that – then checked the camp site to make sure there was no sign of recent habitation. Everything was in good order, having been set up only the day prior, but there wasn’t any sign of a freshly lit fire or that anyone had visited since then.

  “Some decent stuff here,” Bob said after checking things out.

  “Trash it.”

  “What? But I just said...”

  “I know what you said,” Eric snapped. “I’m not about to let them circle behind us, grab what they can, and then make a run for it. Take anything useful you find. Scatter the rest.”

  “What about this?” Muellenberg asked, stepping from the storage tent holding something heavy.

  Eric shined his light and saw it was a professional-grade camera. He didn’t consider himself a petty man, but the bastards had already seen to it that he’d be robbed of a night’s sleep in a warm bed. He decided to indulge in a whim. “Let me see that.”

  Muellenberg handed the camera over and Eric threw it into the side of a tree with a satisfying crunch of plastic and metal.

  He t
urned back to his men. “Like I said, trash it all.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  “Was that a tree knock?” Mitchell asked as a distant sound carried to them.

  Derek stopped and listened. Usually knocks came in multiple strikes. After several seconds, he shook his head. “Doesn’t seem like it.”

  “A tree knock?” Julia asked.

  Arthur stepped forward, an uncertain look on his face. “You mean like Sasquatch is supposed to make?”

  “Danni said you watched the show,” Derek remarked with a grin. “But no. I don’t think that was one. Didn’t have the right cadence or duration.”

  Julia let out a nervous laugh. “Don’t jinx us. The last thing we need is for bigfoot to crash this party.”

  Mitchell smirked at her. “Sorry, but you’re a little late for that.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “There’s definitely one in the area,” Derek said, his tone nonchalant. “Maybe more.”

  “One what?”

  “A squatch.” He started walking again. They were closing in on the area where he and his team had been ambushed. Just a little bit further.

  He glanced back and saw Julia and Arthur both staring at him.

  “You’re kidding, aren’t you?” Julia asked.

  “Not at all. Mitch?”

  “He’s right,” Mitchell replied. “There was a fresh set of prints about half an hour back. Big fella. Probably male. At least five hundred pounds. Think I heard him skulking about a few times. Pretty sure he’s been keeping tabs on us.”

  “W-what?! We need to...”

  “Relax,” Derek said to the younger man. “It’s not mating season and there haven’t been any reports of aggression from this area. He’s not going to bother us if we don’t bother him. Probably just curious as to why people are tromping around out here after dark.”

  “Are you sure?” Julia asked.

  “Positive. Just don’t accidentally shoot at any big shadows you see. The last thing we want to do is piss it off and give it a reason to choose sides.”