Slayers (Jake Hawkins Book 1) (17 page)

Wolfe raised a hand. No-one moved a muscle. Jake watched them stand in complete silence. They were all listening intently. There was no sound from the darkness. He tightened his grip on the Snowdog until his knuckles were white.

Wolfe pointed a finger at Thorn, and then Jake, the two people closest to the hole besides himself.

“
You two, with me,
”
he breathed, his voice barely audible.
“
If this is a trap, I don
’
t want us all locked in there. Crank, Sam, Felix, wait out here. If you hear commotion, follow us in. Anything that looks remotely like a slayer; shoot it.
”

Everyone nodded, acknowledging the orders.

Jake hesitated. He didn
’
t want to go in. But he had come this far. Just like Wolfe had told him, he couldn
’
t back out now. He hoped it was a dead end.

“
Three
…”
Wolfe said.

Jake checked his Snowdog had ammunition, indicated by a blinking electronic light on the side of the barrel. It did.

“
Two
…”

He took a deep breath.

“
One
…”

He raised his gun.

“
Go.
”

The trio plunged into the blackness.

Three flashlights lit up the space, coming alive simultaneously from under the Snowdogs
’
barrels. It took Jake a second or two to get his bearings. He was in a room a quarter the size of the main area. It was as wide as the warehouse, but the far wall was much closer. The concrete wall they had come through was a partition between rooms, concealing this secret space. He passed his torch beam over the floor and gasped in shock.

There were dozens of bodies.

Human bodies.

And they were alive.

Rows upon rows of adult men and women lay unconscious on their backs, their chests rising and falling, arranged in a grid across the dusty concrete floor. Jake couldn
’
t be sure, but it looked like there were at least thirty. They were all in a deep sleep.

He immediately felt panic grip his insides.

“
What
…
what the hell is this?
”
he stammered.

Thorn found his voice, but he ignored Jake.
“
Wolfe
…”
he started.

“
This is a hive,
”
Wolfe said.
“
A mass production of slayers. Archfiend takes these people off the streets
…
puts them in induced comas. He worked out how to do that a long time ago. He bites them as soon as they
’
re brought here, and leaves the virus to slowly take over their system. By the time these people wake up they
’
re going to be slayers.
”

“
This is sick,
”
Jake said.

“
I
’
ve only ever seen one of these before,
”
Wolfe said.
“
Thankfully, this one is much smaller.
”

“
What do we do, Wolfe?
”
Jake said, his panic rising.
“
We need to help them.
”

“
We can
’
t,
”
Wolfe said, squeezing his eyes shut.
“
They
’
re slayers, Jake.
”

Thorn was kneeling by the bodies and feeling their necks. Finally he looked up with wide eyes.

“
Wolfe,
”
he said again, this time much more urgently.

“
What?
”

“
None of them have been bitten yet.
”

Wolfe froze.
“
They
’
ve been brought here recently then.
”

“
You know what that means
…”

“
He
’
s close.
”

“
I
’
m sorry,
”
Jake interrupted,
“
but I
’
m new to this. Who
’
s close, exactly?
”

Wolfe turned to him with a wild look on his face.
“
Archfiend.
”

Several things happened at once. A sudden, inhuman roar echoed through the hive. It sounded like it came from the shadows directly overhead. At the same time, Jake saw something slide across the hole they had entered from. He spun on his heel to see a silhouette pushing a huge steel plate across the floor, sealing them in. The plate was attached to rollers that lay next to the hole. It had been a trap all along.

A grunt from behind caused him to spin back the other way. Two slayers fell from the parapets. They had previously been concealed in shadow but now they dropped, teeth bared. One landed with both feet outstretched on top of Thorn. No matter how strong Thorn was, taking a slayer
’
s bodyweight to the temple was enough to knock anyone out. By the time Jake turned, the big man was already keeling over. The slayer landed awkwardly on the floor, toppling off his hulking mass.

Wolfe was less fortunate. The second slayer dropped with its claws splayed outwards. Both of its hands ploughed into his shoulders, each bony claw sinking deep into his skin. He let out a yell of agony, dropped the Snowdog, fell to his knees. He was helpless.

Jake assessed the situation in a split second. Two men down. Backup was cut off. He was on his own.

In one motion, he raised his Snowdog and switched to single shot. He couldn
’
t afford to fire on full auto, surrounded by unconscious humans on all sides. He squeezed off two shots without even thinking. Somehow, they both hit home. Both slayers
’
heads snapped backwards and they went limp. Wolfe grunted as the claws ripped from his shoulders. He slumped down onto his butt, in too much pain to move.

Jake was jarred by what he had done, but there was no time to ponder.

There was still the one who had closed the door.

Jake pivoted. Far too late. The slayer was there, barely a metre away. His shining lit up its features. It was almost as if it had been patiently waiting for him to finish with the other two. It struck out, hitting the Snowdog from his hands. He barely had time to register what happened. The gun spun away into the shadows.

He tried to throw a punch. The slayer caught his fist in mid-air, kicked him in the stomach and threw him to the ground. Jake collapsed, sucking in air; the kick had winded him. As he tried to recover, he noticed something was different about this slayer. It was putting barely any effort at all into the fight, moving laconically, with an aura of patience. It didn
’
t growl, didn
’
t roar, and it seemed to be biding its time. It had disarmed him with effortless ease. Now, it was watching him. He saw that its lips weren
’
t curled back into its mouth. Its beady eyes were a much paler shade of red than all the other slayers he had seen.

And it radiated power.

“
Y-You
’
re Archfiend,
”
Jake said, still lying on his back.

A sly grin spread across the monster
’
s face. It looked odd for a slayer to grin.

“
And you
’
re Jake,
”
Archfiend said. His voice was soul-chilling. Like a snake had learned to talk.
“
Jake Hawkins. I know a lot about you.
”

Jake was struck by a deep chill, a chill that cut to the bone. Archfiend knew who he was.
“
You do?
”

“
Mmm,
”
it mused.
“
I always wondered whether Wolfe would go through with it or not.
”

“
Go through with what?
”

At that, Wolfe omitted a groan. It must have taken a great deal of effort, for he sagged further down on his knees.

“
Ah-ah-ah,
”
Archfiend said, wagging his finger.
“
We
’
ve got a lot to talk about, Wolfe, but for now, don
’
t say a word.
”

With that, he strode up and slammed a foot into Wolfe
’
s face, once again with barely any effort. Wolfe jerked back and went quiet. Jake recoiled in horror.

“
Now,
”
Archfiend said, turning towards Jake.
“
Back to you.
”

Jake didn
’
t dare move. Archfiend was staring at him. There was someone pounding against the steel plate from the other side, but their efforts were so far unsuccessful. The others were barely a few metres away, yet helpless to protect Jake. For now, he was at the creature
’
s mercy.

“
What do you want?
”
Jake said.
“
Why haven
’
t you killed me yet?
”

Archfiend pointed a finger.
“
Because the rest of your little squad is going to bust through that barrier soon, and I want to talk.
”

“
About what?
”

“
You shouldn
’
t
be
here, Jake,
”
Archfiend hissed. His beady eyes were unwavering.
“
Hunting slayers.
”
He laughed cruelly.
“
Wolfe
’
s pulled you into his operation, but you
’
re in
way
over your head. So you get a second chance
…”

Archfiend took two powerful steps and wrapped a cold hand around Jake
’
s throat. He was lifted to his feet, so that they were face to face. Archfiend leaned forwards until he was within whispering distance.

“
Get out,
”
he snarled.
“
You
’
re not achieving anything by doing this. I
’
m better than you all. I can crush you any time I want. Next time,
I will
.
”

He carried Jake over to the wall.

“
Tell your team that I
’
ve had enough of their games,
”
Archfiend said.
“
I think it
’
s time to teach them a lesson.
”

With that, Jake soared, subjected to an overwhelming force. Archfiend
’
s strength was incredible. He hit the wall behind, and braced himself for the impact, expecting his spine to snap, expecting to be smashed unconscious. But instead, he smashed straight through. The concrete fell with him and his world titled and he landed on his back. The fall sent him into a coughing fit. He was a wheezing, spluttering mess, but he was alive.

There had been a second entrance, plugged up with a man-sized block of concrete, much like the first. Archfiend had thrown him straight through it.

“
Jake!
”
a voice cried out. He rolled over to see Felix, Crank and Sam sprinting for him.

“
Archfiend,
”
he spat out, and pointed through the hole he had created. Their eyes boggled, but they didn
’
t hesitate in the slightest. The three men ran straight through into the hive.

Jake lay in the now empty warehouse, panting for breath. He tried to shut out the pounding headache that had decided to flare up at that very moment. It couldn
’
t have been more than half a minute before Felix called out,
“
We
’
re clear!
”

Jake rolled off the concrete slab and stumbled through into the hive. He was covered in dust and sweat and blood. Crank was kneeling over Thorn. The big man was semi-conscious, completely out of it. He had no idea where he was. There was no sign of Archfiend.

“
Where
’
s Wolfe?
”
Jake said. Tension was building in his gut.

“
Huh?
”
Felix whipped round.
“
I don
’
t know. Where did you last see him?
”

Jake pointed at the spot where Wolfe had been lying not thirty seconds earlier.
“
Right there.
”

Felix didn
’
t respond. He seemed confused. A cool breeze blew against Jake
’
s cheek.

A cool breeze
…

He looked up. One of the windows was broken.

“
No
…”

Jake turned and broke into a sprint out the way he had come in. He made a beeline for the warehouse doors. No-one called after him. They were too confused. He ran outside into the mud, kicking up dirt with each footfall. It didn
’
t take long to round the corner. When he finally had a view of the land behind the warehouse, he swore out loud.

Archfiend was standing on the edge of the forest. An unconscious body which could only be Wolfe was draped across its shoulder. Jake was helpless. He was too far away to try anything.