Escape from Endeavor

by Daniel A. Jones

  ***

  Thomas Smith came into the clearing around the Grayson’s farmhouse and saw a group of people standing near the barn watching the last of the house burn. He recognized all of them; most were family members or friends of the slain boys.

  Thomas joined them and learned that a few more people were planning on showing up. He spent the time talking to each of them to make sure they were there for the right reason. He wanted to kill Daemon and the girls slowly if he had the chance and he didn’t want anybody going who didn’t want to do the same thing.

  A couple of more guys came onto the lawn from the path to town and looked around. They saw the rest of the posse and started walking in the group’s direction. Mystique Fairmont followed them a few seconds later.

  Thomas was not happy to see Mystique; she was a strange one and he didn’t like strange. She was nearly six feet tall but she couldn’t weigh more than a hundred and ten pounds. She’d pulled her jet-black hair back with a string holding it together at the base of her neck. She was wearing tight leather pants with a dark blue blouse tucked into the waistband. The only weapons he could see were two hunting knives, one on each hip. A small backpack and bedroll were the only other things she had with her.

  When the three reached the group, Thomas pointed at Mystique and demanded to know, “What are you doing here? We don’t need some sixteen-year-old whore slowing us down.”

  “I have every right to be here. Bob Monahan and I were close friends,” she lied. She didn’t even like Bob.

  “I’m in charge here and I say who has the right to be here. We’re going to chase them down and kill them, and we aren’t stopping until it’s done. I don’t care if we have to chase them all the way to Discovery City. They are not getting away. So if the idea of going that close to the Rift scares you, you better just turn right around and head back to town. You twist an ankle or something, we aren’t stopping. If you’re too slow, we’ll leave you to fend for yourself.” Thomas looked around the group. “That last part goes for all of you.”

  “Don’t worry about me. I’ll keep up,” Mystique stated, holding Thomas’s gaze when he turned on her.

  “You don’t even have a gun. How are you going to do anything but watch?”

  Mystique didn’t answer him directly. Thomas didn’t even realize she’d started moving when he felt her knife at his throat. “Like this,” she said. The rest of the group jumped to their feet, expecting a fight, but Mystique put her knife away just as fast as she’d drawn it and backed away from Thomas.

  Thomas’s anger showed on his face but he did nothing. “All right, you want to come, fine. Let’s get moving, I don’t think anyone else is going to show up. Leo Burgemen and Jed Garret are already tracking them so they should be leaving us a trail to follow.”

  Thomas didn’t bother to look at the others, he simply stomped off in the direction of the river. The group quickly gathered up their packs and followed.

  Mystique had planned on taking the rear but Alan Bench was determined to be last. He didn’t trust anyone here except his son, Mark, and he wasn’t willing to put his back to anyone, not even Mark. So Alan got to watch Mystique’s sleek young backside as they started their pursuit.

  13

  The trio had stopped for a break and was relaxing when Daemon sensed the threat coming. He turned and saw that Angelica also knew about the arrival of the hunters. He was not sure how far away they were, but they had to be close.

  Angelica picked up her rifle from where she’d leaned it against her pack before sitting down to rest. She quickly looked around for a better position. She found a good hiding spot and was able to cover about fifteen yards back the way they had come.

  Sara had sat down next to a tree when they’d stopped and fallen fast asleep.

  Daemon didn’t like it, but thought it best to let her sleep. He didn’t think she’d be much help in the fight anyway. He motioned to Angelica that he was going to look for whoever was tracking them. He figured they’d be following his trail, so he circled out around. The area of woods they had just passed through was all new growth with a good amount of underbrush to hide in. He just had to be careful not the make too much noise or disturb the brush. Faust had taught him not to shoot unless he could see his target but he knew others weren’t so picky.

  Trackers Leo and Jed were right where Daemon had expected them to be. They were following the trail he’d cut through the underbrush for Sara. They didn’t look like they were being very cautious. Jed Garret was short and stocky, which allowed him to carry his rifle leaning on his shoulder. Leo Burgemen was tall and skinny, forcing him to carry his in the crook of his arm. They were less then eighty feet from where the girls were waiting; Daemon was going to have to act fast. He had no doubt Angelica could and would defend herself but he wanted to make sure she didn’t have to.

  Daemon moved to a position ten feet off the trail and waited. He was hidden in a thick patch of underbrush so he was confident the men wouldn’t spot him as they passed by. He planned to jump them from behind, hopefully taking out the rear guy before the leader knew they were being attacked. Daemon thought of what these men wanted to do to him and his sister and felt the familiar surge of angry power race through his muscles.

  Jed was in the lead. He walked past Daemon without even glancing to the side. Leo followed about three yards behind him. Leo must have somehow sensed Daemon’s presence because he stopped and turned to look directly at him. Daemon didn’t hesitate, he launched himself at Leo with all the strength he had. The two men crashed into the brush on the far side of the trail.

  Daemon knew he could finish the fight fast but if he did there would be nothing stopping Jed from shooting him where he lay. So he wrestled with Leo, allowing him to almost break free before grabbing him again.

  Jed ran back to help his friend but quickly realized he couldn’t shoot into the fray without running the risk of hitting Leo. The two were rolling around on the ground like rabid cats. Leo looked like he was trying to break free and get clear, but wasn’t having any luck. Jed decided to flip his rifle around and jab at Daemon with the butt. The first jab missed because Jed was worried about hitting Leo.

  Daemon had seen Jed’s attack and was waiting for the next one. He let go of Leo and grabbed the rifle when Jed jabbed again. The speed with which Daemon moved stunned Jed and slowed his reaction. Daemon thrust the rifle forward and quickly pulled it back a few times trying to shake it free of Jed’s grip. Leo took Daemon’s change of focus as an opportunity to get free and crawled a few feet away. The force Daemon was shaking the rifle sent Jed stumbling back as he lost his grip and balance at the same time.

  Leo was just getting to his feet when Daemon rolled around and kicked out at him. The kick landed just below Leo’s knee, snapping it backward with a loud pop.

  Leo’s scream was loud enough to wake Sara, who instinctively lunged for cover.

  Jed was shaken by the sound of his friend’s injury but he knew they were in a fight for their lives. Jed pulled his knife from its sheath and leapt onto Daemon, hoping Leo was still distracting him. Jed landed full force on Daemon’s side and drove his knife deep into Daemon’s ribcage. Daemon should have died from that knife wound but instead he whipped around and grabbed Jed.

  The wound broke what little control Daemon had of the beast within him. He could still tell what he was doing but he no longer had any influence over what his body did.

  Jed was shocked that Daemon was still moving with his knife sticking in his side. Jed never had a chance to scream before the beast grabbed him and dragged him closer. Leo looked up from his broken knee in time to see Daemon start to dismember his friend. The sight and the pain were ungodly. He knew he was going to die, but all he could do was stare in horror.

  Daemon regained control a few minutes later. The knife was no longer in his side. He had pulled it out and thrown it away at some point. Jed was lying in pieces at the base of a tree. Leo had passed out and was barely breathing. He was himself
covered in blood, some his own, most of it Jed’s. The minor cuts and abrasions from the brush were already healing. He collapsed to the ground, exhausted, barely aware of Angelica and Sara arriving.

  Angelica went straight to Daemon to check his wounds determined to see what she could do to help him. She knew better than to look at the victims of his rage. She’d sensed it when Daemon lost control and had seen the results before. She had no desire to see them again.

  Sara didn’t have that knowledge and looked around to see what had happened. The sight of Jed’s broken and dismembered body was too much for her. She vomited what little food she’d eaten and started running in blind terror. She didn’t make it far before she tripped over Leo’s unconscious body. She fell over and lay there sobbing and trying to catch her breath. She wished she’d never come to this godforsaken planet. Leo’s moan brought her back to her senses and she realized how close she was to the enemy. She moved away a little and looked at the man she’d been lying on. He was covered in scratches, and leaves. Twigs clung to his cloths everywhere. His left leg was bent at an odd angle and it took her a moment to realize why. Sara had seen enough and didn’t want to see any more, so she pulled her knees to her face and cried as she rocked back and forth.

  Angelica watched Sara’s reaction to seeing the aftermath of one of Daemon’s fights and felt sorry for her. She loved her brother and knew he was a good person at heart, but she worried that her dad had been right. If Daemon ever lost his temper and did this on another planet the authorities would lock him away for the rest of his life, if they didn’t just kill him. His wounds were healing fast and she didn’t think it would be long before he was able to get up and start moving again. Angelica inched toward Sara, trying to convey strength and calm. Sara was going to need to pull herself together and soon; they had a long way to go and more people were going to be coming after them.

  Sara didn’t even notice Angelica was coming; she was too far gone, lost in her own nightmare.

  Angelica carefully helped Sara to her feet and led her back up the path, not too far but far enough so that she could no long smell the fresh blood.

  Angelica checked on Leo. He was still alive but he was badly injured. He was barely breathing, his knee was dislocated, and the leg was broken just below the knee. She didn’t want to make things worse but she knew she had to set the knee and bone before he died of shock. She reached down and grabbed his knee and focused all her energy on setting and healing the bone. When she was done she felt light-headed and drained. Leo was not going far without help for a few weeks but in time he’d be able to walk normally again.

  Daemon came up behind her to see what she was doing and asked, “Why are you helping him? For all we know he was one of the guys that killed Dad.”

  “Because we don’t know that he had anything to do with killing Dad and plus, it’s the right thing to do.”

  Daemon didn’t push the matter, he’d learned years ago that when it came to moral decisions Angelica understood things better than he did. “Okay, anything I can do to help?”

  They moved Leo out onto the trail, away from where the fight had taken place. Angelica had Daemon move Jed’s remains farther away while she collected the ammo the two men had been carrying. It was the same caliber as she and Sara were using. Daemon broke both rifles against a nearby tree, figuring no sense in leaving them for those chasing them. Daemon was able to get a new shirt from Leo’s pack to cover at least some of the blood on him until they could find a stream where he could wash up. Angelica took the time to gather a few twigs and some wood so Leo could make a fire once he woke up.

  Sara had passed out where Angelica had left her. The growing stress had been too much for her to handle. Daemon picked her up and carried her up the trail. It was starting to get dark and he wanted to get across the gorge before nightfall. When they got back to where they had been resting before Jed and Leo showed up, he put her down on a patch of moss. Angelica picked up as much of their gear and packs as she could carry. Daemon took the rest before carefully picking up Sara again.

  Daemon knew the next few miles were going to be rough but it wasn’t like they had a choice. The gorge was about two miles farther west. The terrain was slanted here as they circled around the base of one of the higher mountains. They had to be careful of their footing or risk falling and tumbling down the hill. Both Angelica and Daemon were very tired when they finally broke into the small clearing that lined the gorge. Luckily, Daemon’s regeneration ability quickly renewed his strength and washed away his fatigue once he stopped to rest.

  Daemon lowered Sara to the ground while Angelica dropped her packs and took a quick look around. She wasn’t sure what Daemon was planning but she was confident he had some plan to get them across. The gorge was about thirty feet wide and close to a hundred feet deep, with a fast-running river cutting through the bottom of it. The walls were a mix of loose rock and shear rock slabs with a few plants growing here and there.

  Daemon set down the rest of his load and walked up next to her.

  “So, how are you planning to get us across?”

  “We have enough rope that I figure we can tie it to your waist and throw you across.”

  “I am in no mood for jokes,” she said, turning to face him.

  “All right, there are a few trees along the edge that I should be able to drop across, and then we just climb over.”

  Angelica nodded her approval and Daemon turned and scouted along the gorge, looking for the right tree. It took him a few minutes to find one he hoped would make the reach. The trees on this planet were naturally short, with thick trunks. He would have liked to look further but time was running out. It would be dark soon and they still needed to find and make camp on the other side.

  Angelica sat near Sara and their gear and watched as Daemon pulled his ax and moved to a tall, thick tree. He first cleared away the underbrush from around the trunk, and then started chopping. It didn’t take long before the tree started to fall. Daemon stepped back in case the trunk kicked or twisted. The tree landed pretty much right where he’d wanted with at least ten feet on the ground on the other side of the gorge.

  The crash of the tree woke Sara with a start. She looked around, confused at first, saw Angelica and gave her a questioning look.

  Angelica kneeled by her side. “You passed out, so Daemon had to carry you. We are at a gorge. Daemon just cut a tree down for us to cross on. I need you to gather your stuff and follow me.” Angelica said, trying to give Sara the impression that they needed to keep going; she didn’t want Sara thinking too much about why she’d passed out.

  They were a bit shocked to see that Daemon had walked to the middle of the gorge and was jumping up and down on the tree trunk. He looked like he was trying to shake it loose of the edges of the gorge. They realized he was playing and laughing. Sara stared in amazement as the monster that tore people apart acted like an innocent child at play.

  Angelica yelled at Daemon to get off the tree and come help them with the gear. He looked at them with an expression of disappointment at having to end his fun, but he did as he was told. He took and shouldered as many packs as he could carry and went scurrying across the makeshift bridge as if he were walking on solid ground. It took him two trips to get all their gear to the other side. Angelica started across while Daemon was unloading the packs from his second trip. She was not as steady as Daemon but still made it across fairly easily.

  Sara didn’t like the thought of having to get across what was essentially a round, slippery bridge, but she was determined not to be left behind, so once Angelica was on the other side, she started out. She made it a little over halfway before her foot slipped and she started to fall. Sara was able to grab one of the larger branches as she slid down the side of the tree. Fear gave her the strength to hold on as her body dangled over the gorge. Daemon had been watching her progress across the tree and was in motion as soon as she started slipping. Sara barely had time to start worrying about how she was goin
g to get back up on the tree before Daemon had hold of her wrist. ”Don’t worry, I got you.” Sara was amazed at how gently Daemon lifted her up and placed her back on the tree and then guided her the rest of the way to make sure she didn’t slip again.

  The group quickly gathered up their gear and moved into the woods away from the gorge. The tree canopy blocked what little light was left of the day. Angelica and Sara marched slowly along while Daemon’s superior night vision allowed him to scout ahead for a good place to make camp. It took longer than he liked but he finally found a spot where they could camp safely for the night. A large boulder stuck up out of the ground a good six feet, with a few smaller boulders littering the area around it; they were keeping the brush and trees from growing nearby.

  Daemon put his gear down next to the boulder and started preparing a spot to make a fire. He could sense Angelica getting closer and wanted to have the fire going before they arrived. He knew it was dangerous to have a fire with people chasing them but he also knew how dangerous the forest became at night. He placed some of the smaller stones into a circle and started piling twigs on top. He had just finished lighting the twigs when Angelica and Sara came into the small clearing.

  Sara dropped her pack and rifle near the boulder and looked at the fire, confused. “We’re going to have a fire?”

  Daemon added more twigs and larger pieces of wood to the fire. “Yeah, there are a lot more dangerous creatures in these woods than the men following us. The fire will keep all but the most desperate away.” When he was satisfied the fire would continue burning on its own he stood up and collected his ax. “I have to drop that tree in the gorge and collect more firewood. You two should be safe; just stay close to the fire.” Daemon looked at Angelica a few seconds to make sure she was okay with him leaving before he left.

  Daemon ran through the woods at full speed now. The few minutes rest while he was making the fire had been enough for his regeneration ability to dispel his exhaustion and rejuvenate his muscles. He no longer had to worry about getting too far ahead of Sara and Angelica. It felt good to just run. It allowed him the chance to forget about what had happened and how much his life had changed in just one day. He thought about nothing but where he was running and what path to take. He could sense a few predators coming out of their dens to start the nightly hunt, but they didn’t scare him. He was confident that if any did come after him, it would be him eating them tonight.

  He arrived at the gorge in a few minutes, both moons were out so there was plenty of light in the small clearing along the edge of the gorge. Daemon took the time to look back in the direction of camp and was happy to note that the fire wasn’t visible. He didn’t know if their pursuers were going to try to follow them after dark but it was nice to know if they did they wouldn’t be able to see their camp.

  The thought of the men chasing him reminded him of his task, so he quickly set about chopping the limbs from the tree, which took close to an hour to do before he could move the top of the tree without some branch digging in and hanging it up. All he had to do now was push the top over the edge and let gravity take the tree to the bottom. The tree was heavy but he could budge it, so he pushed it inch-by-inch closer to the edge. Finally, enough of the tree was hanging over the edge to tip it in. He barely had time to let go and dive out of the way when the smaller branches he’d ignored came whipping past in their race to the bottom.