“Where’s my stuff?” Terry wondered aloud.
“He has it. You don’t need it so don’t think about it,” she cautioned.
My whip and knife, Terry thought. Relics from the past. They can be replaced. We need to get out of here.
Mammoth Cave
Char gracefully moved to the front of the formation. She walked as if her feet weren’t even touching the stone floor. She trod lightly to avoid triggering any more traps, but she moved with a deadly purpose.
The bridge had fallen, but a narrower strip of stone remained. A wire along the wall signaled how the Forsaken and his minions had moved through this tunnel without causing a collapse. A permanent trap for the unwary.
Or maybe it had always been weak, and the collapsing bridge wasn’t a trap at all.
Cory was almost as light on her feet as she moved to the front, followed closely by Aaron, but Gene growled and blocked their way with his body. He stood on two feet, almost filling this section of the cavern. The Werebear hobbled along behind Char, keeping one paw wrapped tightly around the wire.
Cordelia tried to close in behind Gene, but a warrior held her back. “If he falls, he’s going to tear that wire out of the wall,” he whispered.
She nodded, itching to catch up. When Gene stepped onto the solid floor of the other side, Cory was off like a shot, almost running along the narrow ledge. Aaron danced after her, studiously avoiding looking down, while Clovis ran along the edge, completely immune to the fear of falling.
Char moved on. Terry’s aura was growing in her mind, and the Forsaken was not between her and her husband. He was below them and running parallel.
The Weretiger was still with TH. She was close, but he was alive. With each step that Char took, she closed the distance between them.
Gene joined her as she continued down the long and relatively straight Gothic Avenue.
Char stopped and grabbed a handful of Werebear fur to keep him from walking past. He groaned as he sniffed and looked without seeing anything. Char picked up a small boulder and rolled it down the middle of the tunnel. It rolled until it angled away from the crowned floor and bounced off the wall a couple times, coming to a stop fifty feet from where Char stood.
She repeated her trap-finding efforts, settling for throwing a handful of rocks at the wall. The fireworks started on the second throw when a gout of flame burst from the wall, filling the tunnel in front of them with fire.
Char grabbed Cory and dove to the ground. As fire continued to belch into the tunnel, it became difficult to breathe. The acrid smoke trailed along the ceiling until it found its way out.
“Hit the deck!” Mark’s order echoed down the tunnel.
It became difficult to see as the smoke burned their eyes.
“Keep your eyes closed,” Char told her daughter. Cory didn’t argue as she struggled to breathe, even with holding her shirt over her mouth and nose.
Someone started firing at the back of the formation. Char couldn’t see who or where.
“Target!” a voice called, followed by more gunfire.
“Target!” a second voice called before he opened up into a void in the tunnel wall.
Char concentrated, not finding any lifeforms. There shouldn’t have been any targets, but she had to trust that the warriors had seen something.
“Cease fire!” the captain called. “What the fuck are you idiots firing at?” Mark crouched as he stalked up and down the line of warriors.
“That’s just smoke, you morons! Stop wasting ammo!” Mark bellowed before giving the “all clear.”
The Landing Pad Outside Mammoth Cave
First Sergeant Blevin sat next to Corporal Heitz. They watched the only ground avenue of approach to the pods that led in the direction of the cave entrance. They’d turned the jeep off to save fuel while they waited.
“Keep your finger off the trigger. The first people up that path are going to be ours. You mark my words,” Blevin told his old friend.
“My baby doesn’t have a trigger, only this beautiful butterfly lever. And I haven’t cocked it yet, either, so cool your jets,” Max replied with a cackle.
“I’m glad we got to come along, and I’m glad I didn’t have to walk anywhere. That would be a huge pain in my ass,” Blevin said.
“Doing any work is a pain in your ass, has been for the past forty years, you lazy bastard,” Max quipped as he leaned heavily against the jeep’s roll bar. He breathed deeply of the fresh Kentucky air. “I like it here, Blevin. The air is nice and clean.”
“Bah. This is the first time we’ve left North Chicago in decades. You like it because it’s different, but then you won’t like it because it’s different. What about dinner? What will you do without Claire’s Diner?”
“Hmm. Starve, I suppose,” Max conceded. “Fair enough. It’s nice, but I like what I like, and that’s Mayra’s cooking.”
“Don’t we all, my friend,” Blevin agreed.
“Incoming!” Gerry called.
Max grabbed the lever and attempted to cock the ma deuce, but he couldn’t pull it hard enough. “Dammit! Come on, you bitch!” Max struggled until Blevin jumped up to help. Together they yanked the cocking handle back and down. Max wrapped his fingers around the spade handles and let his thumb hover over the butterfly trigger. His head swiveled left and right, up and down.
“I’m not seeing anything, Blevin. Where are they?” Max asked calmly.
A shadow descended over the jeep. “Fuckers got in behind us, Max! Light ‘em up!”
Corporal Heitz swiveled the gun mount and leaned down to lift the barrel of the fifty cal to aim at the target overhead. He depressed the lever and the machine gun barked, sending a stream of bullets into the hovering pod.
The aircraft banked away violently. Max let off the lever and thrust his hand in the air, a single digit propped skyward. “Fuck off, you bastards!”
“You showed ‘em, Max. Fuck off, goobers!” Blevin chimed in from the driver’s seat.
***
The pod arrived, and Ted hovered over the area until he saw the other pods in a small clearing. He expertly flew the short distance and slowed as he looked for a place to land.
The fifty caliber bullets clanging on the hull surprised him, making him drag a finger across the control screen. The pod jumped and slid sideways. Had it not been for the fail-safes, the pod would have crashed into those on the ground.
Ted steadied the pod. The bullets weren’t going to penetrate the hull of the pod, which was built to withstand the heat of the atmosphere, as well as strikes from micro-meteors.
Ted crept back toward the other pods. He activated the external speakers. “Why are you shooting at me?” he asked.
“Oh crap!” Max exclaimed. “Why didn’t you tell me that was one of ours?”
“You old bastard! You’re the one hammering the butterfly trigger. I oughta punch you right in your old crusty face,” Blevin threatened.
“I’ll save you the trouble.” Max slid under the roll bar, showing surprising dexterity. He took a ham-handed swing at Blevin, who dodged it by leaning backward and falling out of the jeep.
Max followed him out until the two oldsters were rolling around in the dirt.
“You ever see anything like that?” Sergeant Nickles asked the warrior next to him. The young woman shook her head as she cradled her rifle before her.
The sergeant cupped his hands around his mouth and projected his voice as strongly as he could. “Land it right here, Ted! LAND HERE!” Nickles chopped his arm down and pointed to the small open area.
Ted tickled the controls, turning the pod and dropping it quickly to land lightly into the tight space. He lowered the ramp and strolled into the open air.
“Where’s everybody else?” Sergeant Nickles asked.
“Oh,” Ted replied, turning back to look into the empty pod.
***
Terry sighed in relief when Fu returned. Yanmei greeted the young woman in Chinese and took the tools that she had
brought. As an afterthought, Yanmei closed the door and had Fu lean against it.
With the proper equipment and Terry talking her through it, the first shackle unclasped. Terry gasped when he lowered his arm, the first time in untold hours.
She unlocked the other shackle in seconds.
“Thank you,” Terry said sincerely, rolling his shoulders and flexing his muscles. “Where is he?”
The Weretiger closed her eyes and clenched her jaw tightly. “Oh no,” she whispered.
The door burst inward, sending Fu flying across the room and sprawling over the withered corpse. She screamed as she scrambled to free herself. Yanmei opened her mouth and hissed. Kirkus’s eyes blazed with his fury.
Terry’s glowed a faint red. He had been given his chance to fight for his life. “Come on, asswipe, we’ve got business,” Terry snarled.
Mammoth Cave
Char sensed that the Forsaken had joined Terry and the Weretiger. “We need to hurry,” she said over her shoulder. Gene grumbled from behind her.
Cory wasn’t pleased. “Joseph said the closer we get, the slower we have to go. We can’t get in a hurry now!” she said louder than she intended.
Char hesitated. She made a fist and watched it shake. The fury and frustration were seething just below the surface. She had no patience left.
“Merrit, get up here!” she growled.
“Yes, my alpha,” came the immediate response. Even at the rear of the line of warriors, he could sense her rage. It was only that morning that she shattered Timmons’s face for a slight affront.
Only that morning.
Since then, Adams had been killed, Akio and Joseph were both down, and Gene was injured. As he worked his way to the front, he wondered how much more blood it would cost to free Terry Henry Walton.
Before he reached the front, he understood that if it cost all of them their lives, it would be worth the price. They could never let Forsaken dictate the terms of their existence.
This was more than rescuing their alpha’s mate. It was a life and death struggle for what Terry had been fighting for his whole life.
Justice.
“We need to punish them,” Merrit whispered when he reached Char.
“I agree whole-heartedly. Help me activate the traps. Rocks. Throw them, hard as you can.” Char didn’t wait. Between the two of them and Cory, they sent a cascade of gravel into the walls, walking forward a few steps and repeating their efforts. Gene and Aaron stayed close.
Cory looked back when she felt Gene’s hot breath on her back.
“Joseph said to spread out,” she cried.
“Joseph said that as we get more spread out, the more vulnerable we’ll be, if I’m not mistaken,” Char answered while continuing to throw gravel.
“Bring it up!” Char yelled and the members of the FDG tightened up, closing in. Mark brought up the rear with two privates, walking backwards to keep their rifles pointed down the tunnel to their rear.
“How far away is he?” Cory asked.
“Not far now, but we have company,” Char noted, pulling both pistols and standing ready. She yelled, “HERE THEY COME!”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
North Chicago
Timmons and Sue walked out the front door of the mayor’s building. “Where did the other pod go?” Timmons asked no one in particular.
“Sorry, sir. Ted climbed in and took off before anyone knew what was going on,” Sergeant Boris informed them.
Sue rolled her eyes. “That would be Ted,” she stated definitively.
“Is the area secure? All intruders accounted for? What about our own?” Timmons asked.
Boris waved Sergeant Allison over. “We’ve had a number of civilian casualties. Those assholes fired into any building where they saw people. One of the wolves was shot. Hopefully, she’ll live long enough for Cory to return. The wolf has the worst of the injuries. We lost one warrior in the first volley. No one has died after, that I’m aware of, but we have at least ten people shot. I apologize for the number of warriors who dumped their gear and ran,” Boris said.
Allison saluted when he arrived. “It looks like we’ve lost two of the civilians. The others are getting treatment right now from our field medics.” Allison looked upset.
The FDG had started to train their people in field medicine. Nearly all of them were capable of working as field medics and some of the more gifted were ready to do more, even surgery if they had to.
Sergeant Allen joined the others in front of the mayor’s building. He’d had his people the farthest away from Mayor’s Park and had missed most of the action. He had nothing to report from his end.
“Shonna! Would you like to join us for a quick trip to the mountains? I think our alpha needs us,” Timmons said, stepping away smartly. Allison’s warriors were scattered, as were Allen’s, but Boris had his within shouting distance.
“Mount up!” the sergeant yelled, and his people came running. They’d had a taste of the action and wanted more.
They wanted their shot at payback.
***
“I’m going to paint the walls with your blood and then torch this place,” Terry taunted as he pushed Yanmei behind him.
“She’s going to turn on you, just like she did on me. You see, Terry Henry, there is no one you can trust,” the Forsaken countered.
Terry moved back and forth, keeping Kirkus in front of him. Both opponents were tentative. They’d already fought earlier that morning, but back then, Kirkus had a small army with him.
Kirkus had seen what Terry was capable of. But he also could hear the pain in Terry’s mind from his aching muscles.
The Forsaken attacked, angling in toward Terry’s injured shoulder, swinging and pounding on that side. Terry blocked blow after blow, but his shoulder wouldn’t cooperate for a counter-punch.
Terry lashed out with a forward snap-kick, then a sweep as he tried to knock the Forsaken off balance. To the human observer, the two combatants were only a blur. To Yanmei, their speed was still remarkable, but her enhancements allowed her to keep up.
To Terry, he felt like he was moving slowly.
To Kirkus, he saw openings, but wasn’t able to exploit them before they were gone. He reached for Terry’s leg during a kick, but the colonel wasn’t going to let the Forsaken grab hold. He countered by stopping mid-kick, changing his angle, and driving his foot into Kirkus’s face.
The Forsaken was thrown back against the wall.
Terry cornered him, driving a knife hand from his good arm into Kirkus’s stomach. The Forsaken gasped as the air exploded from his lungs. Terry followed through, curling his arm and jamming his elbow into Kirkus’s throat.
The Forsaken’s head bounced off the wall. His knee caught the colonel in the thigh, and an uppercut slipped underneath Terry’s raised hands and pounded into his chin.
Terry stumbled backward, covering himself and shaking off the stars. He danced around to make himself a harder target while he gathered his wits.
Kirkus took the respite to drag air into his starved lungs.
The two warriors rested for a moment as they nursed their wounds and glared daggers at each other.
***
Char aimed her pistols, the Glocks that she had taken from Sawyer Browne and carried ever since. She knew rounds were chambered and the weapons were ready to fire. “Stay behind me,” Char snapped at Cory.
Gene moved to the side to give himself room. Aaron slipped past Cordelia and stood between her and where he sensed the inbound attackers were coming from. Clovis pranced around and started to bark again. Aaron hissed at the dog, and the big coonhound pup cowered behind his human.
The Forsaken’s minions came running, dressed in rags and carrying clubs. Char almost felt bad, but not bad enough that she didn’t shoot. One by one, she picked them off, firing a single round at each attacker.
One shot, one kill.
Gene started growling. He was still in pain from the razor storm and wanted to make someone pay
.
From the side tunnels, a small number of people popped out. The explosion of gunfire decimated them. It was over in an instant.
The humans had been lackeys. Terry would have called them cannon fodder.
Next were the Forsaken, but they weren’t too keen to wade into battle with disciplined troops and Were folk. Merrit headed for the first one that appeared on the flank, but Gene bumped the Werewolf out of the way.
The Werebear bore down on the Forsaken like a freight train. Gene hit the creature and drove him into the wall. He pounded him mercilessly with his massive paws, shredding skin with each strike and then attacking anew. He didn’t slow until the Forsaken had been torn to pieces.
But the creature still lived.
“Any more in there?” Mark asked the Werebear. Gene cocked his head as he looked at the captain. Mark continued, “Just watch my back!”
Mark pulled his fighting knife and started removing the creature’s head to finish it off once and for all.
The Forsaken that walked into the tunnel in front of Char carried an arrogance common in the stronger of creatures. She holstered her pistols and pulled her knife.
“Sure,” the Forsaken said. “I’ll start with you. Are you ready for me, bitch?”
The Forsaken knew she was a Werewolf, so she didn’t understand if he was trying to be an ass or just noting her status.
“That’s alpha bitch to you, dickless,” she answered with a smile, crouching and starting to circle her enemy.
He waited, casually. Char wondered what his game was. She didn’t sense other Forsaken nearby. She had already walked on the ground between them, so she didn’t believe there were any traps.
Could he be that overconfident? she thought, wondering if he heard her.
He smiled, but that disappeared as a large shadow pushed a mass of air toward him.
Gene ran down the Forsaken just like he’d run the previous one down.
This one dodged and didn’t bear the full brunt of the charge, but the Werebear stopped instantly when he passed the creature, wheeled, and impaled the Forsaken with one massive set of claws. He lifted the creature with one Werebear arm and slammed him into the wall.
Nomad Omnibus 02: A Kurtherian Gambit Series (A Terry Henry Walton Chronicles Omnibus) Page 71
