CHAPTER 7

“It’s going to be okay,” Cynthia said, trying her best to reassure the rest of the girls. She’d been taken hostage before; it was becoming a tiring habit. This time, however, she was playing mother to a series of children with only a couple adults to help.

When Eli assaulted the Cliff Walker den, along with that bastard Mutt, Cynthia had managed to gather as many of the children as she could to keep them safe. Trying to escape out of the back of the den led them straight into Eli’s trap. The truck that carried them here still sat just outside.

“Shut it,” said one of the guards, “No talking.”

They were both human. They would have been easy targets but the cage they were in made attack almost impossible. It also didn’t help that they had rifles loaded with silver bullets. She could have taken one, but then she would have died trying to attack the other. They were stuffed into a large cave. The face opened toward the forest. Cynthia could see the lush forest, along with more guards waiting for them just outside.

They had been driven on a road that she didn’t remember seeing the last time she was here. She could smell the salt from the lake and the ash from the burned down cabins. Their pungent aroma assaulted her nostrils the moment they parked.

Inside the cage with them were boxes of goods stacked high. They seemed important, so she decided to investigate. One box was already open, and full of bags of white powder. She’d seen enough movies to know what this probably was, cocaine. Torque must have been dealing on the side to make enough money for all his rifles and silver bullets.

There was a slight gap in the bars. Perhaps if she shifted she could push her way out and go for help. But, who was nearby to save her? Nobody. The only people here to help were just old enough not to wet their pants.

“What is that?” one woman asked. She was elderly. Gloria, if she had to guess. Her skin hung from her bones, but she had a sweet demeanor that kept the children docile.

“Cocaine,” Cynthia said, “These bastards are probably running drugs to make extra cash. No wonder they have a truck that big.”

“Damn, that must be worth a lot of money,” Gloria said, leaning over the box.

“Yeah, drug money,” Cynthia replied. She returned to the bars. The guards weren’t in the cave; they were standing outside having a smoke.

“Gloria, how many kids do we have to get out,” she asked.

“Fifteen, plus two other adults. What, are you planning on breaking out of here?” she asked, “Cause if so, I’m in.” She had a broad toothy smile on her face.

“I have a feeling that if we don’t, nobody else will find us,” she said.

Her mind started to wander. Where the hell was Alex? If only he were here.

I hope he’s okay.

What if he was dead already? No. She couldn’t allow herself to think like that. That was a defeated person. If she could get out, then she could find him herself. That was the only option. But, getting herself out wouldn’t be that hard. What would be hard was getting out with fifteen pups and three old women. The odds were not in their favor.

There had to be some way they could get out.

Think Cynthia, Think.

Oh, to be an alpha. To have the strength to bend steel as though it were paper. If Connor were here he could have smashed through the bars and taken out the guards in an instant. But, that wouldn’t work. There would probably be more guards outside.

Those guards would probably be human, though. Humans were weak. A shifter was easily twice as strong as any human. If it came to a confrontation where she could use her strength, she might also have a chance.

But, once again, there were children to think about.

The other adults played with the younger kids. Some of them cried. Others that were too young to understand their situation just watched things unfold without any real expression. Most of them were tired or hungry.

The sun blinded Cynthia for a second. She had to hold up her hand to keep it at bay. However, it wasn’t coming from the cave entrance. She scanned the room quickly to find its source. It was coming from above. There was a small hole in the top of the cave. She hadn’t seen it before because of the shadows cast by the canopy of heavy leaves and branches that darkened the space.

“Gloria,” Cynthia said, “Do you think you could fit through that?” She pointed to the hole in the ceiling. Gloria looked up and squinted against the sunlight.

“I’m not sure. How would we even get up there?”

The obvious answer was right behind them. Cynthia pointed at the tower of drugs that lined the wall. Gloria understood right away.

“Get the kids in order. Tell them we’re going to play a climbing game in a second. I’ll go out first to scout. Make sure they know to follow me, alright?”

Gloria nodded and set about her task. Step one was complete, now for step two, build a giant climbing wall to the ceiling. She lifted the half empty box, it was incredibly heavy.

Shit.

“Gloria,” she whispered, “I might need your help.”

“I’m a little busy at the moment,” she replied in a sing-song voice.

“Hey! Shut the hell up!” shouted one of the guards, not bothering to look in.

Then the unthinkable came. The thumping of a motorcycle engine roared from outside. Within seconds, Torque came to a screeching halt just behind the truck outside. His tattooed arms showed fresh bruises. His eye was still black so he hid it, rather poorly, under a pair of darkened shades. When he leaned off his bike, he winced in pain. As he turned, all Cynthia saw was a wicked smile, he walked forward with an obvious limp.

“Well, well well,” he said, “Looks like there’s one pup I won’t have to search for after all.” He pulled a pistol from the waistband of his tight fitting jeans. “Do you like this?” he asked, waving it in front of Cynthia’s face, “Scab thought you’d like it. He’s probably out there right now, looking for your daddy. I’m going to put him in his place.”

Cynthia spat at him. He didn’t flinch, but wiped it from his brow anyway.

“I thought I’d keep you alive long enough to watch him die. I heard Mutt took out that wolf den up in the mountains. I’m sure he’s having a lot of fun with your boy Alex right now.”

Alex!

Cynthia scrunched up against the bars, reaching out as far as she could to grab at Torque. He backed away just in time.

“Tsk. Tsk. Tsk, we got a feisty one here,” he said.

“You let him go!” Cynthia said.

“And, why the hell should I do that?” he asked.

“Because if you don’t, I’ll … I’ll …-”

“You’ll what, kill me? Trust me kiddo, I already know what that feels like.” He wheeled around to walk for the exit, took a couple steps, stopped, and then turned to face her again. “I count myself lucky, you wanna know why?”

Cynthia stared at him, unsure of what to say.

“I’m an integral part of this establishment. Who else manages to push this much product through the area without gettin’ caught? It’s a good thing one of them happened to be a bear, cause otherwise I might have been meeting my maker by now,” he said.

“Someone let you out?” Cynthia asked.

“That they did, popped the lock with a key and sent me running. Hell, by the time they found out, I was long gone. Even killed one of their guards on the way out,” he laughed. “Those pieces of shit. Those goddamn bears. They wanted to know where the rest of our dens were. Like I’d give them shit. They’re probably off searching the middle of the woods for our place. News flash, kiddo. There was never anywhere else but right here.”

This was bad. Not only was Torque on the loose but there was a traitor in the bear den.

“How do you think Eli knew where the bear alpha’s wife was? You see, there are plenty of people willing to trade any information they have for just a little bit of cold hard cash. You get enough money in life and you’re the king. Now that we got Mutt’s gang to join us, we got enough guys with guns to destroy all the rest of the dens no problem.” Torque leaned close to the bars, his pistol lined squarely up with Cynthia’s heart. “One squeeze and it’s one less little wolf to deal with.”

“Don’t you have any guts,” Cynthia chided, “A real wolf would fight tooth and nail, not with something as cheesy as a pistol. You know what I see? I don’t see a king, I see a coward.”

Torque’s face scrunched up in rage. His face became flush and his bruises pulsed. He tapped the gun against the cage, trying one last time to intimidate her, but she wouldn’t fall for it.

“If you kill me, you might as well point that little chunk of metal at your head and pull the trigger yourself. A real coward’s way out. Otherwise, Alex and Crunch will hunt you to the ends of the earth,” she said.

“That is, IF they find you,” he said.

They were interrupted by the sound of a gunshot just outside the cave.

“What the hell is that?” Torque shouted. A bullet echoed softly from the lake side. Gunfire only meant one things, allies.

The guards outside dropped their cigarette and readied their rifles.

“This isn’t over, you little bitch,” Torque said, pointing his gun one last time to threaten Cynthia.

“Hope it isn’t Crunch,” Cynthia said, smiling back through the bars. Torque’s eyes widened. He snatched a rifle that was leaning against the wall and marched out of the cave. For the first time, they were alone.

“What’s that sound?” one of the kids asked.

“Fireworks,” replied, winking at the adults, “Just some fireworks. Do you want to go Cynthia see them?”

“Yeah!” came a collective shout from the group.

“Okay, you’ll have to follow me, and stay close, okay? Don’t want a stray firework to get you while we’re out there,” she said.

The kids nodded.

Still, there was the matter of stacking the boxes right. Cynthia pushed a few on the ground to make a base to stack them. But, the larger ones were just a little too heavy for her to lift by herself. She had to try. As she dug her heels in to lift, she was greeted by Gloria who came to her aid.

“I’m ready to see some fireworks as well,” she said with a wink.

Together, their efforts were just enough to lift and move the heavy boxes of drugs. They hurriedly built a tower three boxes high. It wasn’t the most stable of structures but it would have to do.

Cynthia hefted herself up first. If she could get through the hole then she could help out the rest of the kids. The wobbly structure leaned left to right. She squatted low to gain her balance before standing to her full height on the top box. It was just high enough that she could hook her fingertips outside the hole.

With her strength, she easily lifted herself through the crack in the ceiling of their cage. It was a good thing she was pretty skinny herself or she might not have fit as easily. Once she was out, she examined her surroundings. The lake she recognized from a few days ago spread out behind her. From this angle, it didn’t look so big.

The tallest cabin stood proud on the hillside. She could see Torque and a few of his goons start winding behind it, through a path she didn’t recognize. Maybe that was where they were keeping Alex. She tried to hold out a hope at the very least.

Having gained her bearings, she leaned back to the hole.

“Okay kids, one at a time!”

They did as they were told, climbing up the stacks of boxes carefully. Cynthia grabbed their tiny hands and pulled them up to relative safety. After the fifth kid, she lifted Gloria out to aid her.

Within minutes, they were all clear and standing atop the hill. Cynthia began to lead them in the only direction she knew that might be safe, but they’d have to pass the lake. It was out in the open, if anyone was watching they would be easily caught. Maybe even captured or killed.

She perished the thought. Right now she needed to get these people out of here.

“This way,” she said. She paced down the side of the hill. The kids seemed to be having fun climbing down. Some even rolled to safety. At the bottom was a large patch of rocky sand. Cynthia made sure to keep an eye out for any movement.

Now was the hard part, the large clearing where the cabins were built. From where she stood she could see three bodies, all of them bikers, and all of them knocked out. She breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that was all of them. Maybe she wouldn’t have to worry about being caught.

She started walking across the open expanse. Slowly at first, hunching over to be ready to dive to the ground if she heard shooting. When none came, she considered herself lucky.

“I think we’re clear,” she said, “Let’s get these kids out of here!”

Gloria started to bring the kids out with her. Their little legs pumped through the thick packed sand and patchwork grass easily enough. Then Cynthia heard something she hoped he wouldn’t. Motorbikes. Lots of them.

“Go back!” she shouted, “hide!”

It was already too late. The first of the bikes pulled to a stop, Scab riding proudly in the lead. He turned into quite a cocky little shit in no time at all. As he pulled to a full stop, he spotted Cynthia.

Shit.

“You!” he shouted.

“Run!” Cynthia screamed. She ran back to the group, hefting one of the slower kids into her arms. There were three directions, toward the bikers, back to their cage, or towards the path where Torque had just run.

Rifles were being cocked. In her haste she chose the least of the three evils. Maybe if she could get to Torque she could use him as a hostage. Couldn’t hurt to hope.

She urged the kids through the small path that lead into dense foliage. Gloria huffed and took up the rear. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.