Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Colbie
God, I’d kill for a cheeseburger.
I moved through the dark forest, my stomach growling. I was dirty and hungry, and I had a nasty scratch on my arm and a gash on my side that both stung like hell. The arm was from the crash. The side was thanks to a monster who’d tried to make me a snack.
I hadn’t been interested.
My hand tightened on my blaster. It was my only weapon. It wasn’t much, but it was all I had. I was well aware that there was no way I could fight off a pack of monsters.
Fear tried to choke me, but I set my shoulders back.
I was the daughter of Finn and Lia Erickson. Dad was a fearless pilot, and mom was a fearless drone operator. They never flinched. They never let their fear take over.
I wouldn’t, either.
Memories of the crash filtered through my head and my stomach clenched to a sickening point. My Talon. I didn’t even want to think about the state of my quadcopter right now. The pain was too much.
“Hunter Squad is coming,” I whispered.
Marc would come.
I blew out a breath, pushing through some bushes. I needed to focus on surviving, not on Marc Jackson’s gorgeous face, or muscular body, or his smile.
I sighed. I was insanely attracted to the big lug. He was handsome, fun, brave. He drove me slightly crazy with his jokes and silly bird nicknames he called me.
Apart from monster hunting, he never took anything seriously. He never had relationships; he just had fuck buddies.
I wanted someone I loved, and who loved me back.
I wanted something like my mom and dad had.
I wanted to be worth all the effort for someone. I definitely wanted more than one hot, sweaty night.
That made Marc off-limits.
But right now, I’d give anything for him to be here. That big, strong body, his gorgeous brown skin, his charming smile. He’d hold me, keep me safe, make me laugh.
I shivered. My flight suit kept out most of the cold, but I really needed to find somewhere safe to rest.
I heard the snap of a twig, followed by the rustle of leaves.
Heart leaping into my throat, I spun and lifted my blaster. My heart was pounding so hard my hand wasn’t exactly steady.
Nothing appeared. Relaxing a little, I turned to keep going.
On the hillside, I spotted an overhang of rock, but it wasn’t quite a cave. It wouldn’t give enough shelter. Maybe I’d find a cave ahead.
There was another rustle of leaves.
This time, it came from above me.
My head jerked up, just in time to see a monster flying out of the tree at me.
It crashed into my chest before I could even pull the trigger.
“Dammit.” I hit the ground, my bones jarring.
The bird-like monster snapped its beak at me, its eyes glowing red like a demon. It had no feathers, just scales on its body. It looked as though a lizard and a hawk had had a baby.
It was smaller than the ones that had downed my Talon, at least. Gripping it hard, and keeping it from tearing my face off, I rolled. It squawked, it’s powerful body jerking like crazy.
I heaved the monster with all my strength. It hit a tree trunk with a wild squawk.
I’d dropped my blaster, dammit. I rolled again, searching for my weapon.
Hell, it was too dark. I couldn’t see it. I patted the ground.
Sharp claws dug into my ankle and I yelped.
The monster had clamped onto my left leg. I kicked my leg wildly, and felt those claws tearing at my shin and ripping through my flight suit.
“Fuck you.” I kicked it off, and it flew through the air before it rolled across the ground.
I scrambled up, and grabbed a rock.
The monster came at me again. I flung the rock.
It squawked.
Then I spotted my blaster. Thank God. Diving, I grabbed the weapon and turned.
I opened fire.
With one last screech, the monster hit the ground.
It flopped once, then stopped moving.
I kept firing until my blaster clicked and the laser fire stopped. Oh, no. It was out of charge.
I slumped back, heaving in air.
“You picked the wrong woman to mess with, asshole.”
I wanted to cry, but instead, I sat up. Carefully, I probed my calf and winced at the terrible scratches. It throbbed, but there wasn’t much I could do except stop the bleeding.
I tore the bottom part of my pant leg off, then tied the fabric around my calf as tightly as I could. I whimpered.
It hurt like crazy.
“Okay, Colbie. You need a plan.” I dragged in a breath. “Not be lost in the Blue Mountains would be a good plan.” I shook my head. “Shelter, steer clear of monsters, wait for daylight.” In the morning, I’d climb a tree and signal for help.
Pushing to my feet, I left my now-useless blaster behind. I shivered and my stomach growled. I wish I’d eaten at Marc’s barbecue. The party at Marc’s felt like it was a lifetime ago, not a few hours ago. I’d been called out for an emergency flight to drop some medicine to a local community.
I hope they’d gotten some backup medicine to the town. I limped along, my leg burning. The temperature was dropping.
“You’ve got this, Colbie.”
I’d see my mom and dad again. I’d see my friends again. I’d fly again.
I’d see Marc again.
Hell, maybe if I did survive, I’d kiss him. It could be my reward.
My thoughts turned to my Talon, and grief hit me like a wave. I truly loved my quadcopter. I knew every patch job on the fuselage, every quirk of its flight, every little tick of the engine.
It was gone. Just broken pieces on the ground.
But you’ll fly again, Colbie.
At that moment, an answer to my prayers came into view.
A cave.
Well, it was sort of a cave. It wasn’t very deep, but it was enough to give me shelter.
Crouching, I climbed in on my hands and knees, praying there were no spiders or snakes already in residence.
I sat and pulled my knees to my chest, trying to keep warm. The cuts on my leg were now a burning throb.
I really wanted that cheeseburger. It would be the first thing I’d eat when I got back.
My eyelids threatened to close.
No, Colbie Erickson. No sleeping.
The last thing I needed was for a monster to sneak up on me while I was asleep.
Just hold on until daybreak.
Hold on until Hunter Squad arrives.
Marc
We moved deeper into the forest.
I kept one eye on Kai, and one on the trees.
Where the hell was Colbie going?
My gut clenched. Was she running from monsters?
In front of me, Kai slowed. We’d entered a small clearing. He shifted so his flashlight fell on the body of a monster on the ground.
“Hell,” Jameson said.
Jess moved forward. “It’s another avian monster.”
“There’s more blood,” Kai said grimly.
“She’s injured?” I clipped.
He nodded. “She fought with this and killed it.” He held up a blaster. “It’s out of charge.”
Good girl. But shit, now I realized she was weaponless.
“She’s dragging her leg a little,” Kai continued. She’s limping.”
My jaw tightened. “Shit.”
Zeke clamped a hand on my shoulder. “She can’t be far.”
“Kai, fucking find her,” I snapped.
He met my gaze. “I’m working on it.”
Shit. I blew out a breath. “Sorry.”
“Let’s split into pairs,” Jameson said. “We can cover more ground, and Zeke’s right, she can’t be far. Kai, with me. Zeke with Marc. Jess with North. Fan out and find her.”
My brother jerked his head, and we moved between two large trees.
I gripped my carbine, focused on where I was walking. She’d be looking for somewhere to hole up. Maybe she’d climb a tree? I looked up at the branches above me. That’s if she wasn’t too injured.
My flashlight reflected on a set of eyes.
I froze. “Zeke.”
He shifted. “I see it.”
A sense of menace emanated from the bushes. The eyes glowed a deep gold rimmed with red.
Then in a blink, the eyes were gone.
“What the hell was that?” I said.
“Not sure,” my brother murmured. “I’m sure we’ll find out. There’s a rocky overhang here.”
I leaned down. It was barely big enough for someone to shelter under. Shaking my head, I continued on. I wanted to call out her name, but that would likely bring out every monster in the vicinity.
I heard a rustle in the nearby trees.
Zeke and I spun. We stayed still, clicking off our flashlights.
There was more rustling. Something was coming closer.
Something big.
My eyes adjusted to the darkness. A second later, the monster trotted out of the trees. It looked like a horse.
The biggest fucking horse I’d ever seen.
It had smooth, black skin, with a tangled mane of hair, and a row of short spines running down its back. It was sniffing, like it was following a trail.
It looked like a demon from someone’s nightmare.
I glanced at Zeke, and he nodded. We both stayed still and silent.
Move along.
Waiting was the last thing I wanted to do, but it would be better for this monster to just trot off.
It took another step and stopped. It lifted its huge head and its gaze locked on us.
Aw, hell.
We both whipped our carbines up and fired.
It galloped closer, letting out a terrifying whinny. Zeke dived to the side and rolled. I spun out of the way and the creature raced past me.
It wheeled around and charged at us again. We barely got a few shots off.
Both Zeke and I hit the dirt and rolled.
Coming back to my feet, I watched the horse monster paw the ground. It was watching us like a hawk.
I unzipped the small pack on my belt, and pulled out a coil of lightweight rope. It was thin, but had a steel core, so it was strong.
“I’ll hold it in place,” I yelled. “You take it down.”
Zeke grunted.
Carefully, I fashioned it into a lasso and started spinning it. I judged the distance between me and the monster.
Then I tossed the rope.
It landed over the monster horse’s head and I pulled tight.
The creature let out a startled whinny, then took off running into the trees.
Dragging me with it.
Shit. I held on tightly, my heels digging into the dirt. Branches whacked my face.
“Zeke?”
“Right behind you.”
Laser fire ripped into the monster. It stopped and reared up, sharp hooves flailing in the air.
I quickly circled a tree, wrapping the rope around the tree trunk and tying it off.
The monster thrashed and made a guttural noise that sent chills through me. Its red gaze was locked on me, filled with hunger and anger and fury.
I raised my carbine, and fired along with Zeke.
The monster’s body shuddered, but it couldn’t break the rope. It took a while, but the creature finally slumped to the ground.
Hell.
“Good work,” Zeke murmured.
I sucked in air and pressed my hand to a tree trunk.
I glanced down at the pool of light created by my flashlight.
A perfect, small boot print.
Colbie.
I took off, following the trail.
“Marc!” my brother yelled.
I didn’t stop. It was like something was tugging inside me, pulling me on.
The footprints petered out, and I glanced up. Another rocky overhang, then a little farther along, a small cave.
The entire area was shrouded in darkness.
I moved closer, being as stealthy as I could. Anything could make a cave a home out here.
Zeke slid along the rock wall behind me.
I got closer…
Just as something flew out of the cave at me.
Shit.
I caught a slim arm before a large rock was smashed into my head. Then I caught the rest of the small, curvy body.
Relief punched through me. “Colbie?”
She froze. “Marc.”
“It’s me, lark.”
She made a hiccupping sound, half laugh, half sob. Her hands gripped my shoulders. “Don’t call me that ridiculous nickname.”
“Okay, how about raven? Or wren? That suits you.”
Another watery laugh. “It’s really you?”
I turned my flashlight on my shoulder back on. It illuminated her dirty face, wide green eyes, and tangled red hair. “It’s really me. We’ve been looking for you, sweetheart.”
Then she buried her face in my neck and held on.
I wrapped my arms tightly around her. “You knew we were coming.”
“Yes, but I didn’t know when.” She shuddered. “There were so many monsters.”
“I’ve got you.” I pressed my cheek to her tangled hair. “I’ve got you.”
Zeke stepped into view. “I’ll tell the others we found her.” Turning away, he pressed a finger to his ear.
I just held Colbie’s warm body in my arms, grateful she was alive.