Challa (31 page)

Looking at Challa, however, was an entirely different story. As his eyes roamed down her beautifully proportioned body, it felt like the hairs on his skin were rising from a charge of static electricity. His erection pressed uncomfortably hard against his jeans, forcing him to turn his back to them just long enough to reach down and tug on his crotch, hoping it would ease the pressure.

“You said you might have a plan when it got dark,” Simolif said, looking at him.

Compton nodded. When Jebaral had taken first shift at watching outside the cabin for sign of the Arra, the others had plied him with all the information he asked for regarding the enemy, while keeping notes in his head. He hadn’t had to do these mental exercises since his release from the military, but now he was finding himself easily getting back into the swing of the routine. In a way, it almost felt comforting, knowing his intellectual acuity was just as sharp as it had always been. When it been time for him to take watch, Compton had used the opportunity to formulate a plan of action. Or what he hoped was a viable plan.

Turning to face them full-on, Compton realized everyone was patiently waiting. And listening. Not only had they all completely accepted him without reservation, but they were placing their trust in his expertise. Which meant they were also placing their lives in his hands.

He looked up at DeGrassi. “Did you ever get hold of that sheriff you were telling me about?”

“Yeah. Klotsky said they’d meet us at the roadblock.”

“Is he bringing the light?”

“He promised to.”

“Good. All right.” Compton cleared his throat. “These are my observations and suggestions. If at any time you see a possible problem, jump in.”

A couple nodded. They all remained silent.

“I’m thinking the Arra don’t attack during daylight because it restricts them. I don’t know how, but I have a few ideas that I hope to test if we meet them at the roadblock tonight. That is,
if
they show up, but I’m willing to bet they will. And if I’m right, it’ll be a new weapon against them.” He glanced at his watch. “Let’s get to moving. I’ll fill you in with the rest of it on our way.”

Jebaral stepped forward. It was easy to discern the two males because of their difference in height. “I’ll take the lead.” Glancing over at his wife who handled the deer rifle like an experienced hunter, he told her, “Remember to stay in the center with Sarah and Thom.”

Hannah nodded. It had already been determined that the Ruinos would lead them, as well as watch their collective backs. DeGrassi and Compton would keep in the middle with the two human females.

Each mated pair gave their spouses a warm kiss and a wish for success before taking their places. Challa met Compton in the middle before she went to take her place in the rear. He expected her kiss to be melting, and he wasn’t disappointed.

“I love you,” she whispered against his lips.

“I’m keeping my word,
t’korra
,” he returned. “After this is over, I’m marrying you. This is for keeps.”

“Then you think we’ll succeed against the Arra?”

“I don’t think,” he told her, lightly caressing her lips with his. “I know.”

She giggled softly and went to take her place, but not before leaving him in a cloud of delicate honeysuckle scent.

Chapter 41

Reinforcements

Tiron took the easiest trails she could find, but the route was still difficult to manage. The forest was thick with wild vegetation, despite the fact that fall was approaching. When the foliage got a bit too dense to push aside, she would clear the way with swipes of her talons, which proved to be much more effective than a machete.

Compton glanced overhead where Challa leaped from treetop to treetop, gliding effortlessly on the night breeze. Every so often he would shine his flashlight skyward to see her grinning down at him from the dense foliage. Her unique eyes, as well as the eyes of the other Ruinos, were like reflective orbs. The effect was both eerie and comforting.

Once darkness had completely fallen, the human mates turned on their small flashlights, which they kept next to their weapons. The constant sway of the thin beams was enough to keep them focused, and to help them avoid any obstacles in their way.

From the time they left the cabin, talking had ceased. Tiron kept them going at a steady rate, although Compton got the impression she did so to prevent the humans from tiring out. It was a good thing, as he was sometimes finding himself struggling and breathing heavier than normal, in spite of Challa’s attempts to keep him energized. Compton cursed himself silently, knowing that less than a year ago this kind of trek wouldn’t have had any effect on him. Then again, he reminded himself that he was traversing with an artificial leg, and the prosthetic wasn’t exactly built for this kind of terrain.

They reached a small stream where Tiron called a short halt. “There’s a natural artesian spring here, so it’s safe to drink. Have some. You’ll be surprised how good it tastes.”

Challa dropped to the ground to join Compton as they all took turns cupping the cold water in their hands and drinking. Compton was especially surprised by its distinctive taste. He was having a third handful when Jebaral approached him. Shaking the drops from his fingers, Compton got to his feet, already knowing what the man was wanting. “How far are we?” he began.

Tiron stood beside her fellow Ruinos. She pointed off to her left. “Not far. A few hundred yards. We should start seeing their lights pretty soon.”

Compton nodded. “Good. All right. Here’s what I’m proposing. Ever hear of the story of the Trojan horse?” As he suspected, the Ruinos hadn’t, but Sarah, Hannah, and DeGrassi had.

“In brief, two factions were fighting. One faction was holed up inside a citadel, a fortress surrounded by high, impenetrable walls. The other faction was attacking the walls from the outside. The outside faction got the idea of creating this giant wooden horse and leaving it as a gift for the people who were inside the fortress. But the interior of the horse was hollow, and the opposing force hid inside it. When the people of the fortress opened their gates and took the horse inside, the opposing force was able to slip out and capture the city.”

Simolif frowned. “I follow the idea, but how does it relate to us?”

Waving a hand at the Ruinos to indicate their bodies, Compton said, “I’m going out on a limb here. I’m thinking the Arra wouldn’t be able to identify you if you were in your human forms and mixed among other humans.”

He caught the look that passed between the Ruinos males. “We had thought the same thing at one point,” Jebaral admitted. “So, what you’re suggesting is we use our human forms like this Trojan horse?”

“Yeah. Exactly. From what you’ve told me, in the past whenever the Arra attacked you, you were Ruinos. They attacked first, and you retaliated. Here’s what I propose. Let’s give them a taste of their own medicine. We mingle among the sheriff’s men and the loggers at the roadblock, and wait for the Arra to show up, which you know they will. When we determine how many there are, we’ll surround them. Wait for my signal before you shift back into your true selves and attack.” Compton grinned. “Think of a doughnut with the Arra in the center and the rest of us on the outside.”

“Do you really think the Arra won’t be able to differentiate the Ruinos from the other humans?” Sarah spoke up.

“I’m not betting on it,” Compton admitted. “But we’ll never know until we try. Either way, we have to turn the tables on these creatures. Make the hunter the hunted. They’ll be expecting you to fight back and so far every time you’ve done exactly as they expected. But since none of their scouts have returned or reported back, the Arra are going to send in more troops and more firepower to prevent it from happening again.”

The rest digested what he said, and Compton noticed the two males slowly nodding.

“Do you want us to change now, or when we get to the roadblock?” Simolif asked.

Compton turned to Tiron. “Can we get there without having to clear the way?”

“Yeah. Pretty much.”

“Then change now and wait for my signal to change back.”

The four Ruinos morphed quickly as Hannah pulled their clothes from the knapsack. Again, Compton eyed Tiron as she slipped on her pants over her bare ass. Like the males, she went commando, even sans bra. Her nipples were evident through the tan ranger shirt she buttoned.

He had to admit to himself that the other Ruinos woman was a stunner, but he had absolutely no interest in her. Again, he was surprised to find himself devoid of any sense of sexual feelings for her.

Sliding his gaze over to where Challa was dressing, he got a different reaction, and it took a lot of self-restraint not to go over and rub her firm curves against his growing hard-on. The sudden unexpected thought of what their honeymoon would be like didn’t help, either. Compton softly groaned, gritting his teeth against the heat building at the base of his dick.

“Let’s go,” Tiron announced and took off without waiting to see if they were ready or following. Waving Sarah to get in front of him, Compton took his place in line.

As promised, the rest of the way through the brush and grass was not as strenuous as it had been initially. They emerged near the edge of the road, a barbed wire fence and narrow culvert separating them from the shoulder. Jebaral and Simolif used their Ruinos hands to separate the strands, allowing the others to slip through.

“This way,” Tiron told them, going right. “They’re not too far up ahead.”

The two-lane gradually climbed up a small hill before reaching a wide curve in the road. Lights bounced around from behind the tree line that shielded the crews from sight.

Once they reached the curve, they could see where the road swung back to the left. The curve was partially obscured by what remained of the massive pile of trees that had been puzzle-pieced together to form an almost solid wall. So far several of the trees had been hauled off the pile, as cutting directly through the trunks to provide a temporary tunnel of sorts would be nearly impossible.

But what caught their attention was not the logjam blocking the roadway. It was the number of men working to clear it. Some were using chainsaws to remove limbs so that the stripped trunks would slide off more easily when the trucks dragged them away with chains. Other men scrambled over the trees to aid in wrapping the trees in chains.

More loggers were helping to cut the dragged trees into manageable sections and getting them loaded onto the flatbeds, which hauled them away. From the size of the wall still facing them after a day’s worth of hard labor, Compton gave a slow whistle and wondered how big the structure had been before they’d started.

A movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. At the same time, DeGrassi strode forward, his big pump action shotgun held pointed downward, hunting style. The group waited until Sheriff Klotsky met up with them.

“So far, we haven’t seen or heard a thing from those Arra,” the big man said by way of greeting. His gaze slid over the group. “You people not going to change?”

“We’re waiting,” Jebaral told him. “Compton’s got a plan we want to try, to see if the Arra can spot us in our human forms.”

It was Simolif who gestured toward the crowd of men working below. “Sheriff, do those people know what they may be facing?”

The sheriff glanced back over his shoulder, and a big grin came over his face. “Yep. Every single man was told the truth about you Ruinos. Every man was given a detailed explanation about why you’re here, and what you’ve had to face. And every single one of them volunteered to help you in any way they can.”

“I didn’t expect to see so many,” Jebaral confessed.

Klotsky pointed back down the road, adding, “The state troopers have set up barricades a mile down the road on both sides so that we don’t have to worry about traffic.”

“It could get dangerous,” DeGrassi said. “I know we’ve been up against these things before, but we suspect there may be more of them this time, considering none of them made it back to tell the mothership what was going on.”

“And they could have more weapons,” Jebaral added.

The sheriff placed his hands on his hips. “These guys were told that, but they’re here by their own choice.” His grin widened. “They also know the consequences if any news of this leaked out to the big cities and newspapers. Hell, with technology like it is, it’s going to be hard enough to keep this kind of thing under wraps, but I think it’s doable, taking in the fact that Tumbril Harbor is so isolated. Let’s go down, and you can tell us what kind of plan you have in mind.”

Compton agreed with the rest, slinging his rifle over his shoulder, and altogether they began to head over to where a couple of men were acting as foremen, directing and shouting instructions to the rest of the crew. Suddenly, a chill more shocking than being bathed in icy cold water washed over him. At the same moment, Challa clutched his arm and whimpered. He turned to see her and everyone else staring up into the sky.

A strange cylindrical ship was hovering right above the wall of trees, poised like a hammer over a nail. Without being told, Compton knew it was the Arra.

Everyone took off running toward the site.