CHAPTER 16

“Get out,” Scab said.

Beth held Greta close as she hopped from the truck bed. She had been in tears the entire ride; Tess wanted to console her but couldn’t find the words as she felt the same. Cynthia tried her best at comforting the group.

“They’ll come,” Cynthia said, “Alex would never leave me.” She gripped Tess’s knee, “I know Connor wouldn’t either.”

“You heard me, get out!” came Scab again.

Cynthia hopped out, leaving Tess the only one left. She edged her way to the tailgate and gingerly stepped to the ground. Doing her best to brush aside her tears she followed the other women being herded toward a large cabin.

The area around them would have been quite gorgeous if they weren’t in their current situation. It reminded Tess of the glassy lake to which Connor had taken her on their last date. Twilight reflected off the calm water along with the roaring bonfire that tried its best to scrub out the setting sun.

Scab gave her a rough push from behind and she fell into Cynthia who was walking just in front of her.

“Hey,” Cynthia barked, “don’t you know she’s pregnant!”

“Like that matters to me,” Scab replied.

“Thanks for trying,” Tess whispered as they walked.

The cabin was sparsely decorated inside. Just a few bunk beds lined the walls with blankets covering ratty old mattresses. The pungent aroma of wolf made her gag. A flood light pointed at the high ceiling, spitting out enough to illuminate the space. In the back corner, a staircase led to a loft that hovered above them. A bonfire was starting to burn through the cracked, soot-stained windows at the front of the cabin.

Once Tess was inside, the door slammed shut. Beth sat on one of the empty beds with her daughter Greta. Greta sucked at her thumb and played with her mother’s hair with little idea what kind of situation they were in. Bless her ignorance.

Cynthia pulled Tess over to the bed opposite the bears. Scab stood by the doorway with his pistol in hand, watching as the girls went about.

“Listen, Tess,” Cynthia whispered, “There’s no doubt in my mind that Alex is coming for me. Hell, I’m sure that even my dad is going to join him. If they’re coming then I know Connor is coming. If they don’t, then I’m going to give them hell when I break out of here by myself.”

Tess laughed through her tear stained cheeks but was still having difficulty allowing herself a glimmer of hope. She hadn’t heard from Connor in almost two days, he might have already been killed. She did her best to perish the thought.

“That goes for you too,” Cynthia said, speaking a little louder, “When the time comes and they come to rescue us, be ready.”

Beth didn’t have much to smile about. Her husband was dead, and she was trapped here with the man that killed him. Still, she tried to keep herself in a good mood for the sake of her young daughter.

The door to the cabin shot back open. Illuminated by the bonfire, the silhouette of the hunter filled the door. He pushed his way inside and looked about the cabin before finally resting his eyes on Tess.

“You,” he said. Tess looked up at the hunter and a new sense of dread took over. “Come with me.”

He took her by the hand and yanked her to her feet. She would have tried to resist but there wasn’t enough fight in her.

“Where are you taking her,” Cynthia demanded.

“Not far,” he smiled. The sound of heavy stomping from his large boots echoed around the room as he pulled her toward the staircase to the loft.

On the closest wall was a large bed big enough for two. Of all the furnishings she’d seen so far in the cabin it was by far the nicest. On the opposite wall sat an old blue couch. It had patchwork tape covering holes that still had stuffing jut out. A large plastic crate occupied one side of a sliding glass door that led to the balcony. A pair of massive stereo speakers sat on the balcony.

The hunter threw Tess to sit on the couch.

“Stay there and don’t move,” he said. She did as she was told. The hunter flicked a switch on a nearby stereo and loud music pounded from the balcony, shaking the sliding glass doors. “Now we can get some privacy.”

Tess gulped back her fears. Eli paced in front of her. The awful power ballad music was making the wolves rowdy downstairs, somehow she could hear that much. Eli bent at the waist, bringing his face right in line with hers.

“You’re that alpha’s bitch, aren’t you?” he said with a smile, “You know, he reminds me of someone I used to know.” He stood back to his full height before walking over to lean against the balcony window. For a moment he stared at the setting sun through the glass, the reflection dancing with the tiny waves on the surface of the lake. “Aren’t all alphas the same? They lord their strength over everyone else in the pack.” He chuckled. “How stupid.”

Tess eyed her exit, it wasn’t being watched, but downstairs she knew she’d still have to fight her way through Scab. Maybe her and the girls could overpower him, steal his gun, and then fight their way out? No, that was her dumbest idea yet. Cynthia might have been able to do something like that, but not Tess. Especially since she was pregnant and unable to shift.

“There are plenty strong, powerful animals out there,” Eli said, turning back to Tess. He walked slowly back toward her as he continued, “Lions, Elephants, Horses, all of them stronger or faster than people. But, guess who will always win in a fight?” The hunter tapped at his skull, “the smartest one.”

Tess felt something poking her in the leg; it was under the couch cushion. Whatever it was, it felt sharp. She tried her best to reach between the cushions without being noticed, still keeping her attention toward Eli.

“That’s why humans are the top of the food chain,” Eli laughed, “sorry, did I say humans? I meant Hunters.” He turned back to the sliding glass windows, stopping in front of the plastic crate.

Tess finally found what was poking into her leg. It was an old screwdriver. She wrapped her hand around it, ready to draw it out if she needed to. Eli pulled a shiny new rifle from the crate and held it over his head.

“This is true power,” he said, “It doesn’t matter how big you are. Everything has a weakness.” He reached into his pocket for a round of ammunition which he loaded into the barrel of the rifle. “I taught my brother that lesson. Then I went about teaching the entire rest of my old pack that lesson. But, that was years ago.” He stared off into space as though lost in an old memory.

He killed his whole pack? He’s a monster.

A new sense of dread was building up inside of her. This guy was unhinged. The rifle that he held in the crook of his arm was loaded and ready to take her life. Was that what he planned to do? The thought crossed her mind. She gripped the screwdriver tighter; she might only get a single chance at escape.

“I’m not much for thinking about the past. I’ve changed over time. Now I only think about the future. And, there’s no room for any of you wolves in my future,” he said. He hefted the rifle to his shoulder. The barrel wheeled around until Tess was staring straight down.

She coiled up her muscles to pounce, but just as she was about to make her move they were both distracted by the sound of a loud motorcycle engine clanking its way into the camp.

“Saved by the bell,” Eli said, “Looks like my old friend Crunch is here to give me some good news. I’ll be back for you later.”

He tossed the rifle over his shoulder as he flicked the stereo switch off. The music died but Tess’s ears still rang. He pushed open the sliding glass door, appearing on the balcony.

“Ah, Crunch. There you are. I was starting to wonder if you’d show at all. I was just entertaining some guests,” Eli said.

“You let them go and I’ll talk,” Crunch replied out of sight.

“Counter offer, I shoot this one here to prove to you I’m serious, then I go find that little girl of yours and you can decide if you still want to stay quiet,” Eli scoffed.

Tess heard a deep growl emanate from outside. She’d never heard Crunch when he was angry and she didn’t want to hear it again.

“Fine,” he shouted, “but you gotta show me that they’re all safe.”

“Deal,” Eli shouted. He walked back inside from the balcony, grabbing Tess by the arm as he passed. She brought the screwdriver along, tucking it inside her sleeve.

“Bring ‘em out, Scab,” Eli said as they made their way down the small staircase. Scab waved his gun to beckon the girls outside. Beth and Greta were the first to comply, followed by Cynthia who spat in Scab’s face as she passed. Tess laughed to herself when she saw the anger fuming on Scab’s face. He lifted the gun, starting to aim at Cynthia but was stopped by the hunter who rested his rifle barrel on the pistol. “Sorry, not just yet. Not until after we’ve had our fun.”

Scab sneered as the hunter pulled Tess outside to join with the other women who were lining up in front of Crunch. Where was Connor? Where was Alex? They were supposed to come to the rescue, but instead the only one that came was Crunch.

“Hey Cyn,” Crunch said with a wave. She smiled and waved back.

“Oh great, I’m glad you two were able to catch up,” Eli said. Scab stood behind the line, his arms crossed with his pistol at the ready. “Now, since you see they’re quite unharmed, maybe you could go about answering my questions.”

Crunch sighed, then nodded.

“Great!” Eli shouted, “First question: Where is Cliff Walker den?”

“All real wolves know where it is,” he snapped back, “What does that say about you?”

Boom!

Eli fired the rifle into the air. The sound of the rifle going off sent a shockwave through Tess’s body. The bullet that before might have ended her life was gone, but he was already reloading while he continued to speak.

“Wrong answer, Crunch. You only get one of those. The next one you don’t answer goes straight into the skull of this beautiful young woman.” He pointed the loaded gun at Tess’s head. “Did you know that she’s pregnant? I call it a Two-fer. Get rid of two mutts with just a single bullet.”

She wailed, no longer able to hold back her fear, giving into the tears that she was barely holding at bay. She stared into Crunch’s face, hoping he wouldn’t say the wrong thing. Her life depended on him.

“Okay, okay,” he said. One of the nearby biker’s handed him a map. He looked at it for a second before drawing a clearly marked ‘X’ on it. “A real alpha would already know.” He spat in the dirt in front of Eli.

“Second question: Where-”

Kaboom!

On the far side of the campsite, by the other motorcycles, an explosion filled the night sky. A ball of fire reached toward the heavens and where Eli’s van had once stood proudly was a burning husk of metal.

“What the hell did you do!?” Eli shouted. In the confusion, Crunch ran towards the distracted Eli and delivered a haymaker that sent him reeling back.

“I brought friends,” he said.

Scab was caught by the noise, clutching at his ears. When he came to his senses he leveled his gun at the prisoners, readying to fire. Cynthia, not wanting to be shown up by her father, spun on her heels and tackled the gunman to the ground. His firearm skittered in the sand toward Beth.

“That’s my girl,” Crunch shouted.

Beth snagged the pistol with her free arm, juggling Greta in her other. The camp was chaos. The gathered bikers were running about, trying to put out the flames of the car that were already spreading to the evergreen tree it was sitting under. The fire caught on one of the cabins and was engulfed almost instantly. The poor biker that was inside came screaming from the door and leapt into the lake to save his skin, literally.

“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Beth said.

“Not so fast, drop it,” Torque said, pumping a shotgun. Beth tossed the pistol back to the ground, “I knew you would hatch some idiotic escape plan. Where the hell are the other two, call them out right now.” He shouldered his gun and pointed it at Crunch who sighed in defeat.

Eli stirred on the ground. Scab retrieved his pistol as he joined Torque.

“Connor! Alex!” Crunch shouted. His voice bellowed through the entire area so loud that even a dead man could have heard it. After a moment, neither of them showed, Torque was getting impatient. He marched in close and pressed the shotgun to Crunch’s head.

“Get them out here right now!” he said.

Eli finally stood to his feet; he did his best to shake off the punch he’d received but considering Crunch’s size it took a second.

Connor limped his way down the single road that led out of camp. Only one of his legs could hold his weight so he leaned hard on a tall walking stick. Tess gasped when she saw the body of her beaten and broken man.

“Connor!” she shouted. She ran to meet her man. A look of sheer determination was plastered on his face. Tess planted kiss after kiss on every part of him her lips could find. Connor eased himself onto Tess, letting his makeshift crutch clatter to the ground.

“I missed you,” he said. He held her so tightly she almost couldn’t breathe but she wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“How touching,” Eli said, rubbing at his jaw. “So, now we’re just waiting on the other little shit before we can have the family reunion.”

Connor started to shuffle forward. Tess held him up, putting his arm over her shoulder as he moved.

“I’m going to give you one chance to surrender,” Connor said, bringing himself within a couple feet of his foe.

Eli gasped, but then laughed. It was a deep belly laugh that shook his entire body. He doubled over to catch his breath.

“Surrender? When I have you all here? We’re just waiting on … what … that other little shit that I shot in the back? Is he going to make a miracle recovery and come jumping out of the woods to save your life?”

Alex popped out from behind Scab, beating him in the back of the head with a rock. He collapsed to the ground like a ragdoll, losing consciousness. At the same time, Samantha leapt from the shadows, with a large clubbing stick and brought the full force of her blow down to meet Torque’s head. It wasn’t quite enough to knock him out, but it was enough to distract him as Crunch balled up his fist and let it fly into Torque’s jaw.

“Goodnight Torque,” Crunch said, spitting on his unconscious body.

“Lucky number three,” Sam said with a giggle.

“I never was one for surprises,” Eli smacked himself in the head in frustration. He stood still for a moment, eyeing the group that stood against him. In a flash of movement Eli snagged Tess by the arm, drew his knife, and had her by the throat.

Connor tried to lean on his one good leg but lost his balance.

“I guess nobody here likes surprises,” he said. “I’ll just be taking this one with me.”

Eli kicked open the cabin door, pulling Tess along as his hostage. She tried to resist but the knife was so close to her throat she could feel the sting of the silver against her skin. Once they were inside, he kicked the door shut, dragging her toward the staircase in the back

“I really liked that van I’ll have you know,” he said, “that ammo wasn’t cheap. It’ll take me some time to source more.”

The cabin door flew open for Connor to enter. He stood firm on his bad leg. The staples that held his wound together were twisting against his movement. As he walked forward, they ripped from his skin and blood began to flow from down his leg in a trickle.

“Tess!” he shouted.

“You’ll never learn, will you,” Eli said. He lifted Tess up the stairway. From behind Connor came the rest of the pack. Alex, Cynthia, Beth and Greta, Crunch, Samantha, they all followed closely behind Connor.

In the loft, the fires from the ignited cabins outside cast strange shadows on the walls. From this angle you could only see the destruction below.

The jostling from being pulled along had caused the knife to bite into her skin, leaving tiny lacerations along her neck. Eli pressed on, pulling her to the box in the back where before he’d grabbed the rifle. He kept his arm around Tess, sifting through the box for another gun.

“I gave you a chance to surrender,” Connor said as he limped his way to the top of the stairs. His face had the grim look of determination. It was clear he had but a single goal in mind, now.

“Have you met me?” Eli said, digging through his pockets for ammunition. “I’m the definition of a survivor!”

Connor stamped bloody footprints with each step he took on the cold wooden floor. Closer and closer he stepped, the quickened breathing of the hunter relayed his fear.

With the rifle loaded, he raised it with a single arm and aimed at Connor.

“You should have stayed out of this, boy,” he said.

Tess looked down to see his finger starting to pull the trigger. Her hand clutched at the screwdriver from earlier. With as much force as she could muster she jabbed it into his hand as he pulled the trigger. The bullet skimmed along Connor’s unflinching cheek, drawing a clean line of blood.

Eli howled in pain, dropping the gun. Tess broke free, joining Connor, burying her face under his shoulder.

“I was going to let the bears deal with you. They deserve that much. But, you threatened Tess.” He took a step closer, Eli’s eyes widened with fear as he dug the screwdriver from his hand. “You threatened my unborn child.” Another step. The hunter clutched at his hand. “You threatened my family. And, for that, I’ll kill you myself.”

The hunter looked over the crowd of unfriendly faces. Crunch was squeezing his fists into large balls, ready to pound. Alex growled while holding Cynthia by the waist. The bears leered from the corner. They wouldn’t let him escape either.

“You’re forgetting one thing,” Eli said, “A smart person knows when to run away.” He turned, covering his face as he smashed through the sliding door and leapt from the balcony. Connor made to give chase but instead fell to his knee. He’d used up what little strength he had left.

“Connor!” Tess shouted. She clutched him in her arms, holding him in her lap.

“That went well,” he said. A smirk formed on his stoic face. Tess held her hand on his cheek.

“I knew you’d come,” she said.

Crunch stomped over to the crate of guns in the back. He stuffed the errant rifle in the box then hoisted the entire thing to his shoulder.

“No time for pleasantries, we need to get out of here before they regroup,” Alex said. He pulled off his shirt, setting it against the blood flowing from Connor’s leg and pulling it tight. “I’ve done this once before.” He winked at Samantha.

Tess helped get Connor back to his … foot. As quickly as they could manage they ran out of the cabin.

“Dammit!” Crunch barked, “That shitbag stole my bike!” Alex hefted the unconscious Torque over his shoulder. “I loved that bike.”

They ran past the burning houses. Motorcycles blared as the bikers took off in all directions. Eventually, Tess saw their yellow truck waiting for them. Samantha leapt into the driver’s seat while Beth and Greta joined her in the cab. Everyone else piled into the bed. It was a tight fight but it was all they had.

Tess watched the cabins burn with satisfaction as the truck trundled down the bumpy old road. For miles she saw the thick ashy smoke rise over the horizon. With Connor in her arms, she allowed herself the opportunity to relax. It was over, for now.