New Species 02 Slade (23 page)

swamped Trisha as she watched the New Species duo

make hand signals to each other before they separated.

One of them sneaked up behind the hunters while the

other one moved to attack from the side.

Voices started to carry up to Trisha until she knew

without looking they were scary close. She continued to

use the binoculars, hoping she was low enough on the

cave floor to make a smaller and harder-to-see target

with her chin on the sleeping bag. The four hunters were

nearly out of her lens range.

“I know those shots came from this direction,” a man

with an accent stated firmly.

“Buck and Joe Billy said they were going to climb to

high ground to take a look-see.” The deeper voice had

the same Southern accent. “Do you think they killed that

two-legged animal?”

“I don’t know,” a new voice without an accent

answered. “But they aren’t answering their radio. Look

sharp, guys. Those animals have minds the way we do

and sure aren’t as easy as shooting elk. Wild animals

don’t talk back or carry weapons the way we do.”

“Fucking James,” another man without an accent

laughed. “Elk? Come on. Let’s compare them to

something at least similar. Maybe they are closer to apes.

Those think and walk on two feet, don’t they? For all we

know, Joe Billy and Buck are screwing with us.

Remember that time last year when they ambushed us

just for the hell of it to see if one of us would piss our

pants? I’ll bet you twenty bucks they will spring out at

us any second.”

“You’re on,” a man without an accent said and

laughed.

Trisha moved her binoculars from the four men to

where she’d last spotted the two New Species but

couldn’t find either of them. She continued to scan until

she finally spotted one but was shocked at where she

located him.

He jumped from one branch high inside a tree to

another branch in the one next to it. The jet-black haired

New Species amazed her with his sense of balance and

grace. He stopped practically on top of the four hunters

who didn’t even realize he watched them from above.

Trisha’s heart raced while she kept her binoculars

glued to the black-haired New Species as he jumped

again to land in the top branches of the tree directly over

the moving hunters. He gripped the trunk and seemed to

be studying the men below him. He withdrew a handgun

from the holster strapped against his chest. Every fiber of

her body told her he would attack.

The black-haired Species suddenly dropped to a

lower branch. It was the most graceful thing that Trisha

had ever seen. He obviously had done it very quietly

because the men below him never glanced up. He

stepped down to another lower branch, walking it as

though it were a balance beam, and moved with the men.

He suddenly jumped out of the tree and landed hard on

two of the hunters below him.

Trisha gasped but kept her binoculars trained on the

three fallen men. She saw movement as the two other

hunters spun to look at what had happened behind

them. She saw a flash of black and the redheaded New

Species seemed to appear out of nowhere as he rushed

the two men from behind.

He leaped, tackling them as if he were a football

player taking down two rival players. She was close

enough to clearly hear the grunts of pain. In seconds the

four hunters on the ground lay motionless and the two

New Species stood over them silently.

Trisha got a really good look at both men and was

assured they were definitely Slade’s men. They had the

distinct facial anomalies that most of the New Species

had. The black-haired Species had a smaller nose than

most and his features were telling. She suddenly had a

feeling that he had to be part primate. The redhead had

cat eyes similar to Justice North, indicating he had to be

feline.

The two men withdrew something from the lower

pockets of their pants that resembled thick plastic ties

and secured the downed men’s hands behind their backs.

When they’d handcuffed all four of their prisoners, they

yanked their ankles up and bound them with more white

ties until they had them hogtied. The black-haired

Species give a thumbs-up sign to his redheaded

companion.

One of them laughed and Trisha moved. Her body

was sluggish because she’d lain in the same position for

too long but she was able to carefully rise to her feet. She

leaned out a little, staring down at the men who were

about sixty feet from the area where the two dead men

lay.

“Hello,” she called out.

They didn’t jump or seem surprised when they

turned their heads to gaze up at her. She let that sink in.

Did they already know where I was? She decided they

probably had. One of them, the redhead, nodded at her.

“We’ll get to you after we dispose of the dead

bodies. Your kills?” He jerked his head toward the two

men who lay far below her. “Two of them, right? I smell

two different scents.”

Shocked, Trisha just gaped at him. There was no way

they could have seen the two dead bodies from where

they stood. They would have had to walk around a few

more trees and a huge boulder. She finally nodded.

The black-haired Species pushed his hair away from

his face as he peered up at Trisha. “Where is Slade? We

caught his scent but it’s faded as though he’s been gone

for hours. Why did he leave you, Dr. Norbit?”

“He said there were too many of them.” She paused.

“He wanted to cut down their numbers. He seemed

certain if he started hunting them that some of them

would get spooked enough to leave but he should have

been back by now. He said if I fired the guns he’d hear

and come running.”

The redhead nodded. “That is a good plan. It

accounts for why we found two empty camps with the

scent of blood but no men.”

Two camps? She wondered if they’d found the one

where she’d been held or the one Slade had attacked the

night before. She didn’t really want to know. She just

worried about Slade. He’s promised to come if she

needed help and he had to have heard the gunshots but

he hadn’t arrived yet. Two of his men had to rescue her

instead. Is he hurt? Dead? Maybe he is still on his way.

“Is there any way you can tell if Slade is close?”

Trisha silently hoped they could.

The redhead lifted his head and sniffed. He shook

his head. “I don’t scent him and if he comes, it’s from

afar. We will get you down from there when we are

done. Sit and stay put. You’re safe now, Dr. Norbit. Our

people will send a helicopter here to fly you to safety

and we will find Slade if he does not return within a

reasonable time. We have teams spread out for miles

searching for you both. I would track his scent but I’d

rather wait until you are secured on the helicopter. You

were our primary concern since Slade can take care of

himself.”

Trisha was speechless over being told she was the

New Species’ primary concern. She worked for them,

sure, but Slade was one of their own. She was glad the

man below her had so much confidence in Slade’s ability

to take care of himself though. He must be really good at

survival. Slade had told her that he’d trained with most

of these men and they had to know him really well.

The black-haired Species leaned down and pulled

something from his bottom pocket. Their pants seemed

to have a lot of them. Trisha crouched down but watched

what he did. It looked as though he had some kind of

bulky cell phone he spoke into. She saw his lips move

but didn’t hear his words. She quickly realized he spoke

into a satellite phone. She’d seen a few of them a time or

two. He hung up and replaced the phone into his lower

pocket.

Trisha moved back away from the edge, not wanting

to watch them remove the bodies from below. She

wondered what they would do with them but didn’t ask.

She sat on the sleeping bag and hugged her arms to wait.

“Where are you, Slade?”

The silence squeezed at her heart at not knowing if

he was okay or if he’d never come back to her. They had

some things to discuss if both of them came out of this

alive. Did what had happened between them mean

anything or was it just one of those trauma-induced

moments? She uttered a curse word. What if he had only

slept with her and treated her the way he had because of

the situation they were in? She pushed those thoughts

away. It was too painful.

* * * * *

pure rage gripped him. They’d prevent him from killing

all the humans who meant to do harm. The distant

sounds of gunfire had come from Trisha’s direction. His

heart raced as he jumped over a fallen log, used it to kick

off, and leaped over a small ravine. He landed hard,

crouched, and then rose up.

“Easy,” a male called out. “Stop running.”

Slade snarled, his head jerked up, and he spotted a

familiar face from his perch on a tree limb twenty feet in

the air. “She’s in danger.”

“No, she’s not. Smiley and Flame have her. They

spotted her perch and are intercepting the males in her

vicinity. She’s well taken care of.” The guy jumped,

landed on a pile of dead leaves, and straightened. “You

can’t be seen by humans right now.”

“I must go to her, Ascension.”

“She’s safe. We have her, my friend.” The other

male’s gaze swept down Slade’s body before he met his

eyes. “You’re soaked in blood and gore. You’ll terrify

her if she sees you this way. It’s a pretty horrific sight

even for me. How many did you kill?”

“Many.” Slade’s body began to relax. Trisha would

be safe if Flame and Smiley were near. Both males were

very good. “She’s safe? You’re sure?”

“You found her a secure location. No human is going

to reach her before our males do. She is safe. Calm. May I

approach? You’re injured and feral at the moment. You

have that caged look we know so well.”

Slade crouched, breathed heavily, and tried to catch

his breath. “I won’t attack.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I wasn’t sure how far you’d gone

or if you’d lost it.” Ascension stepped closer, slowly, and

crouched in front of him until only feet separated them.

“I’m fine.” Slade stared into the other man’s eyes.

“Good. We knew you’d survive but weren’t sure of

your state of mind if you had to kill. We found some of

the kill zones. Why didn’t you just stay with the doctor?”

“They were closing in on us, there were too many,

and one group of them found her the first time I left her

alone. She has no survival skills and allowed them to

walk right upon her. I had to turn the tables to make sure

no more could harm her.”

Ascension watched him silently, frowning. “I smell

her on you. It’s hard to pick up over the stench of blood

and death but it’s there.”

A soft growl rumbled from Slade. “And?”

Ascension reached over and clasped his shoulder.

“She’s human, soft, and a doctor. They take oaths to save

lives. I don’t want to see you harmed.”

“I need to go to her.” Slade tried to straighten but the

other male’s firm grasp on him only tightened.

“Listen to me.”

“What?”

“You’re feral right now. Your mind is calmer than we

feared but you’re walking death. You don’t have a

mirror. Your features and eyes have the wild look we

tend to get when it happens. She can’t see you this way.

You’d only terrify her. I’m under orders to find you and

bring you back to Homeland. Allow me to take you

there.”

Slade growled. “No. I’m not done here. There are

more of them.”

“Orders are—”

“They attacked her, one of them beat her and tried to

rape her. She could have died when they forced the SUV

off the road. They declared war on us and I want it

finished. Any that get away could attack again at a later

date.”

The hand eased and released. “I can’t bring you in if I

haven’t found you. I understand but you must stay away

from her until you regain your ability to suppress your