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| Sebastien |
There was something about the woods that always creeped Sebastien out. Even in the early morning, not much light pierced through the treetops. A flurry of snow crept in where it could, and that which had already set crunched beneath Sebastien's boots as he led the way forward.
He glanced at the squad of six soldiers following behind him, grasping their guns tightly as they searched through the murk. They carried large rucksacks on their back containing the equipment needed for the job, and although it looked like it weighed a ton, none of them complained.
Sebastien couldn't smell anything nearby—at least nothing that would pounce at them and try to tear their insides out. Once he reached a small opening, he halted and looked around. "This is good," he said, pointing at the ground.
The soldiers nodded and started setting up tripwires and the cage Sebastien hoped would hold the infected human they were after.
Sebastien leaned back against a tree and watched. Whenever he heard something move through the snow, he searched for anything that might be a threat, but all he could see were foxes, rabbits, and a few deer in the distance.
"We're all set up, sir," Captain Barkley said, gesturing to the laid trap.
"All right." He sighed, standing up straight. "We stick to the plan," he said firmly, glancing at each soldier as they stood behind their captain. "You guys are vulnerable to this thing's bite, so you remain in your cover, and the only time you break is if I need your help or something enters this area and may compromise the trap. Got it?"
"Yes, sir," they replied.
"Good." Sebastien took a communication collar out of his pocket, clipped it around his neck, and put a small earpiece into his right ear. "You keep your radios handy. Keep me updated; I'll do the same. We ready?"
"We're ready, sir," Captain Barkley confirmed.
Sebastien shifted into his kludde form. He stretched his wings out, shook his head, and prepared to head into the woods. "Let's get this thing done," he mumbled, and then, as the soldiers took their positions behind the trees, he raced deeper into the forest.
He waited until he was a good distance away before saying, "Can you all hear me all right?"
"We hear you loud and clear, sir," Barkley replied through the earpiece.
"Right. I'll let you know when I find a target."
"Understood."
Sebastien slowed when he approached a hill. Once he emerged from the woods and reached the top, he carefully scoured the land below. Trees shrouded the landscape, and the falling snow made it hard for him to see as far as if it were a clear day. Flying and searching from overhead wouldn't be any better, either.
With a sigh, he headed down the hill and moved silently through the forest. He sniffed the ground and air, scanning for the slightest hint of the rotting stench the infected gave off, but what his nose picked up instead made him tense.
Humans...and wolfsbane. There were hunters nearby.
He frowned cautiously and took cover behind a fallen log. If it were night, he'd use his demon ability to shroud himself in the dark, but it was daylight, and the best he could do to hide was using the environment.
Should he investigate? What if they were the same hunters they raided last night? Lord Caedis would want to know about that, especially if they were looking to find their missing comrade and avenge those he and Jackson's wolf pack killed.
Hunters might be human nine times out of ten, but that didn't mean they were stupid. Sebastien had learned never to underestimate them, especially since many soldiers who worked for the Nosferatu's subdivisions were human. They could be smart, tactical, and even a little devious. He wouldn't make the mistake of shrugging them off and telling himself they'd never track the pack back to Silverlake.
He was going to have to investigate.
Sebastien kept low and prowled through the woods. He followed the wolfsbane scent, and when he heard voices, he covered behind a boulder.
"Barkley, we got hunters in the perimeter," he whispered.
"How far out, sir?"
"Half a mile, maybe a little more." He peeked around the rock and focused on a trio of armed men standing by a jeep. "I can see three and a jeep, but I can hear several voices."
"Do you need us to move in and back you up, sir?"
Sebastien pondered. The hunters were near where his squad set their trap, and there was no way they wouldn't hear the trap go off and the infected human screeching. However, he couldn't tell what they were doing. Were they tracking? Were they waiting for someone or something?
"No," he replied, keeping hushed. "I'm not sure what they're doing, but there's a chance they might be the same hunters we extracted Wilson from last night. If they are, and they're looking for revenge, we might have to bring this to Lord Caedis. They could interfere with the mission, and that's something we can't have."
"Of course, sir. We're on standby."
Sebastien scanned his immediate area. There were enough trees and bushes to get closer without being seen, so he started moving nearer, ensuring he stayed hidden.
The closer he got, the more hunters he could see; there were three by the jeep and four others skinning a dead arieto. They cut the moose-looking beast's cat-like tail off, sawed away its moss-covered antlers, and laughed as they did it.
These men didn't deserve to live—
No...he couldn't let his anger consume him. He had to keep composed and figure out whether these guys were just hunting or stopped to strip the arieto on their way elsewhere.
"Oi, Frank!" one of the men by the jeep called.
The hunter standing over the others while they skinned the arieto looked at the man, tossing his cigarette into the snow. "What?"
"How much longer is this shit gonna take? We gotta get back to camp."
"As long as it fucking needs to take, Bill," Frank replied.
Bill scoffed, looking at his two friends. "Guy's a fucking party, ain't he?"
The men laughed.
Sebastien scowled as they loaded the arieto's severed parts into their jeep. They were headed back to camp, and since the jeep looked like the one Wilson's group was driving, it was safe to assume these guys were part of that hunting party. Why were they in such a hurry to get back, though?
He couldn't follow them. The mission to capture an infected human was more important. He waited. They got into their jeep and drove off, and once they were out of Sebastien's line of sight, he left the brush cover and headed in the opposite direction.
"They've gone east," he told the squad. "Looks like they're heading back to their comrades. I'm getting back on task. Contact Lord Caedis and let him know Wilson's band of hunters might be getting closer to Silverlake."
"Roger, sir," Barkley replied.
Sebastien prowled through the woods. He searched for what felt like hours...until he finally picked up the scent he was looking for.
Decaying flesh and rotting blood.
Every time he inhaled that smell, it brought him back to the first moment he caught a whiff. The memory of the place he initially encountered the disease cursed him. He'd never forgive himself for getting Caleb killed or forget what happened that day.
He didn't want to think about it, though. The last thing he needed was to become a victim of his emotions. He needed to concentrate and find the source of the smell.
The scent guided him through the woods into a thinner part of the forest. There was more space and less cover, but fog was beginning to ensnare the area, so it wasn't hard for him to hide.
The smell became stronger when he approached the foot of the cliff. But it was accompanied by gunpowder, gasoline, and old stew. He frowned and stalked closer. Once he moved around a protruding boulder, a small camp came into view.
There wasn't anyone around, but the fire was burning, a pot of stew hanging over it. All three tents were shredded, the snow was red with blood, and a snowmobile was turned over, fuel leaking onto the ground.
Something growled. A wet, deep gurgle came from inside the camp, and it didn't sound like a cadejo. Could it be an infected human?
Sebastien climbed onto the boulder—high enough to keep him safe from whatever was down there—and moved closer.
The sound of grinding teeth and cracking bones made Sebastien grimace. He felt sick when he set his eyes on the creature inside the second tent. It was a woman with long brown hair; her white fur coat was covered in blood and something black, and she was kneeling beside the corpse of a man, pulling the flesh off his body and shoving it into her crooked mouth.
He frowned in disgust. The sound, the smell... seeing the thing feast on human flesh forced him to recall when he'd first encountered these undead things. Part of him wished he didn't have to take part in a mission where he'd be so close to the cadejo and whatever else was infected with the virus; it reminded him of the things he'd much rather forget, but he couldn't refuse Lord Caedis' orders. Whatever that demon told him to do, he'd abide.
Sebastien took a deep breath, composing himself. He focused on how he would get the zombie back to the squad's trap. It wasn't a cadejo, so he'd have no trouble picking it up and flying it back, and it was still snowing, so if hunters were lurking in the woods, they wouldn't be able to see him above.
But he wasn't sure how infected humans reacted, if it would be fast or slow or able to escape his grip. There was only one way to find out.
He spread his wings, swooped down, and grabbed the zombie by its arms. It grunted and groaned, reaching up to bite, but Sebastien kept his paws far enough away.
"I'm inbound with the target," he said.
"Roger that, sir. We're ready and waiting," Captain Barkley replied.
As the falling snow thickened, he carried the snarling zombie back to his awaiting squad. He swerved and plummeted towards the small opening, dropping the zombie a few feet from the ground. As he raced back up, the tripwires triggered, and four walls of bars rose from the snow and clamped around the zombie.
Sebastien landed near Barkley as his men hurried to secure the cage.
"Watch its teeth!" the captain warned.
The zombie tried reaching through the bars, but the soldiers dodged its attacks and locked the cage.
"All right, good work, men," Barkley called.
"We should get this thing back to the truck before something or someone comes to investigate," Sebastien said. He walked to the cage and turned his back to it. "Get it over with."
The soldiers took several chains and a thick leather harness from their bags. While one attached the harness around Sebastien's hound-like body, the others connected the chains to the cage, linking them to Sebastien's harness.
"Let's go," Sebastien muttered. He didn't want to think about how humiliated he felt being a workhorse. He just wanted to get it over with.
The soldiers followed as he dragged the cage through the woods. They didn't have far to go; the truck was only a few minutes away.
But a few minutes was all it took for everything to fall apart. The sound of approaching tires signalled things were about to get a lot more complicated.
"We've got incoming!" Captain Barkley announced, swinging to point his rifle toward the oncoming vehicle.
"For fuck's sake," Sebastien grumbled. "Get this shit off me."
The soldiers hurried to get the chains off. Once he was free, he joined the squad's defence line. The fog was too thick to see what was coming their way, and he didn't like what the rest of his senses told him.
"There's at least ten of them," he said. "Humans with weapons—no...twelve of them."
"Defend Officer Huxley," Barkley ordered.
"Protect the fucking zombie," Sebastien corrected as the soldiers took position around him. "I'll deal with these assholes." He waited as he felt the humans' auras get closer.
Something dark appeared inside the fog. It grew nearer, revealing several blurs—jeeps when they came close enough the fog didn't shroud them.
The four vehicles came to a halt thirty feet from Sebastien and the squad. Four geared-up hunters climbed out of each vehicle.
"Well, well, well," came a man's voice. "What do we have here?"
Sebastien set his eyes on the speaker. The bearded man was wearing the skin of a wolf walker on his back; there were gauntlets made of antlers around his wrists, and a tiny taxidermy fox head dangled from his rifle.
"This is Venaticus business," Captain Barkley called. "You have—"
"I don't give a shit whose or what's business this is—"
"Carlos, that's the thing we saw leaving our camp last night," one of the hunters muttered to their leader.
Harry set his eyes on Sebastien and pointed. "You killed my men," he accused. "You and your little wolf scum buddies. And you Venaticus cunts were in on it, weren't ya?"
"Get back in your vehicles and leave," Barkley warned.
But Harry chortled, looking to his men. "Riker's fucking livid at you lot. But when he sees that I brought them the people responsible for taking all his critters away and killing his men, I'll be his next general like that."
Sebastien eyed each of them. They looked just as eager as their leader to attack but were holding back because they weren't sure whether they could deal with him. After all, he was the last kludde in this world, and likely the first they'd ever seen. They didn't know what to expect. He could use that to his advantage.
"Or," Sebastien said, stretching his wings out ever so slightly to reveal the long, jagged spikes on their carpals, "I kill every single one of you right here and all you'll be is food for the undead things living out here."
"Holy shit, the thing speaks," one of the men scoffed.
Harry flexed his weapon. "I think...the only ones dying out here will be you lot. You might be part of that Nosferatu nonsense, but we out here don't give a flying fuck. We hunt Caeleste, and that government of yours is all Caeleste. You see where I'm getting with this, right?" he asked, looking at Barkley and his men. "I'm a lenient guy, though. We humans gotta stick together. So, I'll tell ye what. You guys come over here and help us capture this...thing"—he gestured to Sebastien—"and we'll let you join our ranks."
Barkley and his men cocked their guns as Barkley replied, "Humans and Caeleste must stick together. That is the only way either of us survives. Your way will only get you all killed."
The zombie in the cage behind them beat its hands against the bars.
Harry scowled at Barkley, shifting his sights to the zombie. "What do you lot want with that thing?" He scoffed and looked at his men. "You know, that is a perfect example of why our way is the right way. Humans are getting sick now because of something those Caeleste started."
Sebastien was getting tired of them. "Last warning," he growled.
"Your call, sir," Barkley said.
As Harry aimed his weapon at Sebastien, his men aimed at the squad. "Don't be stupid, now," he drawled. "There's more of us than there is of you."
Sebastien needed to think carefully. The last thing he wanted was for Barkley's men to die; they couldn't afford to be standing around out here. They needed to get the zombie back to headquarters so Doctor Everston could look at it.
He glanced at Barkley, who was already waiting for orders, and said, "B."
Then he burst towards the hunters while Barkley and his men took cover.
The hunters yelled and started firing, but Sebastien was faster than anything they'd dealt with. No one got remotely close to hitting him with their flurry of bullets as he raced forward, pushing off a tree and colliding with three men. He tore them apart before they could fight back and then dove behind a jeep as Harry and his men came after him.
Sebastien watched through the jeep's windows as Barkley's squad hurried towards the cage and picked the chains up.
"Don't let them get away!" Harry yelled.
While they were distracted, Sebastien pounced from cover and executed one of the men about to shoot at the squad, but the other men started firing. Their bullets hit the bars and ricocheted; some of their shots hit the zombie, but they didn't kill it.
Sebastien moved quickly, taking out three more men, leaving just Harry and two others.
But then one of the soldiers yelled painfully when Harry's shot hit him. He tripped and fell, holding his hands over the wound in his thigh.
"Take him out!" Harry yelled.
With a ferocious snarl, Sebastien jumped and landed on one of the hunters, who screamed and fired his weapon. Two bullets hit his body; although it hurt like hell, he couldn't stop. He winced painfully but sank his teeth into the man's body, ending his miserable excuse for a life.
The squad started firing to protect their injured man. Harry and his remaining comrade darted behind a boulder, and Sebastien took cover behind several trees.
"Give it up!" Barkley yelled.
"Sir, he needs medical attention," one of the soldiers said, examining the injured man's wound.
Sebastien couldn't let the last two men get away. If they got back to their camp and shared the news that Sebastien was seen once again killing their men, those hunters would come looking for revenge. But first, he needed to examine his wounds.
The bullets burned inside him; this wasn't the first time he'd been shot with silver, and his injuries wouldn't heal until the bullets were removed. But he wasn't bleeding out, so he knew he could kill the last two men without straining himself too much.
"Let's talk about this," Harry called.
There'd be no talking.
Sebastien peeked out from behind the tree, seeing the other hunter whispering into a radio. He couldn't let them tell the other hunters; he hastily widened his jaws and spat a ball of blue flames towards them. The moment the flames hit the man's hand, the radio melted, and the fire travelled up the man's arm as he screamed and shrieked. He scrambled to his feet and stumbled out from behind the boulder, and then one of Barkley's men shot his head, ending his life instantly.
Now, it was just Harry.
Sebastien prowled out from behind the tree as silently as he could and approached the boulder. He could hear Harry panicking and fiddling with his rifle, but before he could do anything, Sebastien veered around the rock and sunk his teeth into the man's arm.
While Harry shrieked, Sebastien pulled him out into the open. He tore his gun from his hands and pinned him on his back.
"You're going to answer my questions, or you'll be begging me to kill you," Sebastien growled.
Harry struggled, trying to pull free, but he was no match for Sebastien.
"What were you and your men doing out here?"
The man spat at him.
Sebastien snarled and harshly stabbed his right wing's carpal spike into the man's shoulder.
Harry groaned, gripping the spike with his hand. "Tracking!" he exclaimed.
"Tracking what?"
"The...fucking...wolves who attacked us last night!"
Sebastien snarled. He was right. These hunters were going to be a problem. He moved away from Harry, who immediately attempted to get up, but Barkley shot him and ended his life.
"We need to get moving," Sebastien grumbled.
"Sir, you're hit. We need—"
"I'm fine," he interjected. "Get these things attached and let's get moving," he said, kicking one of the chains. "We need to get back before he bleeds out," he added, nodding at the wounded soldier.
Barkley nodded and attached the chains to Sebastien's harness. Then, once the other soldiers helped their wounded comrade to his feet, Sebastien began leading the way back to the van. Lord Caedis was going to be furious when he learned about the hunters, but Sebastien was sure he'd devise a plan to deal with them. He had to. They couldn't let anything stop them from reaching that lab.
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