Dauntless, page 2
“Do you love him?” I spun in my seat to see Sebastian sitting up, his eyes unfocused and still yellow, but the iris was almost normal, nearly round again.
“Sebastian!” I yelped, my fingers brushing his jaw as his eyes rolled back into his head and he slumped into the seat, unconscious again. “Stop the Jeep Burns!”
Burns slammed on the brakes, the jeep sliding sideways and shuddering to a stop. I turned towards Burns, my own eyes feeling as if they might fall out of my head.
“The cure. Donavan might have actually given him the cure,” I whispered. “We have to go back for it. I know there were more vials, all marked the same as the one Donavan gave Sebastian.”
“Marks told us to leave, we can’t go back. If we go back with the Jeep, I don’t think we’ll have enough fuel to get to the rendezvous point.”
I shook my head. “This changes everything, what if Sebastian has been given the cure? We need to have the other vials, to be able to give them to the doctors, the real ones, when we get to safety.” I said it all as if it was to be, as if we were all going to make it.
“Okay, you stay here.” Burn’s got out of the Jeep, his back to the road. “I’ll go back on foot, catch up with Marks and be back here in no time.” Shutting the door he leaned in through the Jeep’s window. “If I don’t get back to you, if something goes wrong, the rendezvous point is…” Burns never got to finish his sentence. He’d committed the cardinal sin when it came to the Nevermores. He turned his back on them.
3
Burns was seized from behind, yellowed hands grabbing him all over. In a split second, before I could even reach for him, he was snatched from the side of the Jeep and hauled away, the gurgle of blood overwhelming his screams.
The pack barely dragged his body ten feet away before they started to feast. The only thing I could be thankful for was that he was dead before they ripped at his flesh, his neck severed by bites. I swallowed down tears, hiccupped back a sob and very slowly leaned forward to pull the Jeep’s door shut, doing my best to not draw their attention to us.
I crawled into the back seat, scrunching myself between the passenger’s seat and Sebastian, laying my head against his chest. His heartbeat was erratic, thumping at an elevated rate then going silent for nearly a minute before picking up speed again. Tears slipped down my cheeks and onto his bare chest. I wanted to curl up in a safe, warm place where I could sleep for days and wake knowing that there was nothing wrong with the world.
His big hand lifted up and he placed it on my head. I stared up into his face, his eyes at half mast. “No tears,” he rumbled, then closed his eyes and slid back into unconsciousness.
I hiccupped back another sob and the tears slipped down my cheeks faster.
I lay there with Sebastian, my heart heavy and my mind frozen. I didn’t know what to do. Did I go back for the cure, or hope that Marks found it? Of course he wouldn’t know what it was, or which bottle to take. This could literally be what the world was waiting for and I didn’t think I had it in me to just walk away. Finally, somewhere between waking and dreaming, I made my decision.
Sliding back into the front, I shimmied into the driver’s seat, my eyes scanning the area. There was some movement on the edge of the brush, but nothing else. I clipped on my seatbelt and reached for the walkie talkie.
I flicked the dial on and scrolled through the channels until I heard a voice. It sounded like Marks.
“Marks, it’s Mara. Burns is dead. I was wrong. The cure, there might be one,” I said, huddling over the speaker, trying to muffle the noise. The pack was still eating but, after a quick glance that turned my stomach, I could see that there wasn’t much left of Burns to keep them occupied.
His voice was scratchy as it came through. “Mara . . . bunker cleared out . . . wait for me . . . explosions are worse . . .” Marks voice faded in and out and I cursed. I tried to adjust the dial, turning it ever so slightly counter clockwise.
The walkie talkie squawked, letting out a screech that lifted the hairs on the back of my neck. One glance out the side window confirmed what I already knew. I wasn’t the only one who’d heard it.
The local pack rushed the Jeep and I fumbled the keys, dropping them on the floor. I bent, my seatbelt stopping me from reaching the keys over my ever expanding baby belly.
“Son of a bitch,” I snapped, unbuckling myself as the Jeep rocked, the pack pushing it as they screamed out their hunger.
My hand grabbed the keys and a handful of dirt from the floor, and I sat back up, doing my best to ignore the open mouths and scratching nails on the metal. Heart pounding, I focused on getting the keys in the ignition and starting the Jeep. Again, the vehicle rocked hard and I held my breath as we teetered on two tires for a split second. Miracle of miracles, the Jeep dropped back down on the ground.
I turned the key and the Jeep fired up. Slamming it into reverse, I hit the gas pedal and cranked the wheel hard. The frame shuddered as we spun into the pack, thumps and screams of pain filling the air. I bit down on the remorse that tried to surface. They’d eaten Burns, torn him apart, and they’d do the same to me.
I threw the gears into first, shifting as we picked up speed; the Jeep lurched each time—I was out of practice driving a manual, but we quickly left the pack behind. A groan from came the back seat and I checked the rear-view mirror. Sebastian was twitching, his body shivering and jerking as if he were some strange marionette. I swallowed, my heart beating so hard I could feel it against the walls of my chest.
“Please let him be cured. Please let him be cured...” Became my mantra as I drove.
The drive back to the compound didn’t take long, at least not long enough for me to come up with any sort of a plan—just that I had to get the vials I knew were in the basement. I pulled into the underground parking lot of the Coast Bastion Hotel and put the Jeep in park. I would walk from here and at least Sebastian would be out of sight and, hopefully, safe.
I dug through the Jeep and found a flashlight and what I thought was a Billy club. That, or a fish bonker. Gripping the two-foot-long dark wooden shaft did not make me feel particularly safe, but it was all I had. I slid into the back with Sebastian.
“Love, I’ve got to go for a bit. Stay here. I’ll be back.” I kissed him, his lips unmoving under mine. A tear slipped down my cheek and dripped onto his face. With the heat that radiated off his body, I almost expected the liquid to sizzle. Stroking his hair and giving him another kiss, I knew I was stalling. I didn’t want to have to go back in the compound, but I knew that if Sebastian was cured and found out I’d run away from bringing the cure to others I’d never be able to look him in the face again.
I closed the Jeep’s door softly, only a light click, but in the darkness and the vast emptiness of the underground lot it sounded like a shotgun to my oversensitive ears. The shuffle of bare feet on concrete, on the far side of the lot, snapped my head around. I dropped to the ground beside the Jeep, peeking under it.
Feet so dirty I could see the filth, even in the dim light, scuttled into view. The distinct tones of yellow with the broom pattern underneath the skin confirmed what I already suspected. I held my breath and waited for the Nevermore to either pass the Jeep by or make a move closer to me and Sebastian. I prayed it would pass by. My hands were clammy clutching the club, and I knew that if it was a big Nevermore I was going to have a hard time killing it with an over-sized fish bonker.
The Jeep rocked suddenly, and Sebastian let out a howl, startling both me and the feet on the other side. The Nevermore let out a growl and fingernails scratched down the metal doors.
Shit.
I wasn’t going to have a choice about this. I pushed myself to a crouch and plastered my back up against the Jeep. One more deep breath, a prayer whispered with words I weren’t sure were going to help, and I stood to face the Nevermore.
Compared to Sebastian he was small, scrawny and had minor injuries all over his body. It would have made it easy to kill him or, at least, easier. But I wouldn’t have too. I let out a shuddering breath and lowered the club. It was Scout.
4
“Scout,” I said.
His head snapped up, a grimace on his face, then he lowered his eyes. I snapped my fingers and let out a low whistle and he scooted to my side, pressing his face into my thigh as his fingers dug into my calf. I patted the top of his head and tried not to think about how dirty he was.
I opened the Jeep door to show Sebastian to Scout. “You stay here. You need to guard him,” I said. Sebastian took the moment to let out another groan as he rolled, the Jeep’s shocks protesting.
Scout cocked his head and started to lean in to sniff Sebastian, the intensity in his body changing ever so slightly. I didn’t understand at first, but as Scout snuffled the air and his eyes dilated I saw the hunger creep in, the tell tale sign he was about to bite. I saw it and smacked him on the nose, startling him and sending him backwards. “No,” I snarled, putting my body between Sebastian and the Nevermore. Scout had been with us from the beginning, but it was obvious that Sebastian no longer smelled right. Scout never would have tried to take a bite out of an Alpha male.
“Stay. Guard Sebastian,” I said, and closed the Jeep door. “You protect him, Scout. I mean it. No biting. You stay with him, no matter what, and keep him safe.”
Scout stared at me, and I wasn’t sure he understood. Sometimes it looked as though he did; other times I doubted his ability to still comprehend English. Slowly he nodded and tucked himself into the shadow of the Jeep. This time I was lucky; he seemed to grasp what I’d said.
Not wanting to waste anymore time, I headed out at a slow jog, through the parking bay and out into the streets of downtown. The theatre-turned-compound that I was headed for wasn’t far—it was less than a block away—but between me and it lay a lot of open space. At the edge of the parking bay I peeked out, surveying the area, my heart pumping with adrenaline. If I ran, I could probably make it all the way to the theatre in less than five minutes. But that could attract more attention than I wanted.
“Come on Mara, you’ve got to move,” I whispered. I stepped out and jogged to the edge of the next building, using it for cover. Blood pumping far faster than it should have been, I took a moment to calm my breathing and looked around again. It was so quiet, but I knew that there was a full-sized pack of about 30 Nevermores ranging through here, not to mention Marks and his men.
Yet, there was no gunfire, no howling, no snarling. I was close enough to the theatre that if humans and Nevermores were fighting I should have been able to hear them. While I stood, watching for signs of movement, the hairs on the back of my neck began to stand up and the pit of my stomach fell to the ground. Ever so slowly, I turned my head to look behind me. There at the entrance to the underground parking lot were three Nevermores, two males and a female. They were staring into the darkness, seemingly deciding whether or not to go in.
“Don’t. Just turn around, walk away,” I said softly. To my dismay, the bigger of the two males started in, his body quickly disappearing from sight. The other male followed. There was no way Scout could protect Sebastian from all three of them and a good chance he might join in when they attacked the Jeep.
I didn’t think, I just acted, knowing I could draw them away. “Hey! Over here!” I yelled. The female spun and I waved at her, watched her eyes widen before I leapt into a run towards the compound. Arms pumping, I focused on the fence that was still sort of up around the building where the cure was. I ignored the shrieking and howling behind me, the slap of bare feet on the pavement and the heavy breathing as they drew closer. I reached an open gap in the fencing and grabbed the edge of it, swinging myself into the compound. I didn’t slow down though; I knew I couldn’t take on the three of them.
Breathing hard, sweat running down my face and back, I sprinted the last few strides to the theatre door. Yanking it open, I leapt through the glass door and it shut with a swoosh behind me. The three Nevermores banged up against the glass, their fists drumming at it with an alarming amount of force. I backed away, unable to take my eyes from them as they attacked the wall with increasing ferocity.
In short, they were pissed.
I turned and started to run towards the lower levels. If the Nevermores broke in, I would be hunted down for sure and I had a feeling it was only a matter of time. As if on cue, the sound of glass shattering reached my ears.
“Great, just freaking great,” I muttered. The interior of the theatre-turned-compound was dim but not dark. Chandeliers had fallen, paintings were hanging askew or completely off their hooks, dust and rubble lay everywhere. I made my way through the debris to the far side where I knew the stairs to the lower levels were. Moving as quickly as I could, I stumbled when I came to a body on the floor. It was one of Donavan’s men. I thought his name was Clint. He had a huge gash in his forehead and a hunk of concrete with a matching blood splatter lay beside him.
I tried to feel sorry for his death, but all I truly saw was a way to keep the Nevermores busy. I bent and grabbed Clint’s arm, dragging him closer to the centre of the room, away from all the doors.
“Thanks Clint, you have no idea how much I appreciate this,” I said. I stood beside the body and even I could smell the fresh blood, the coppery tang on the air and the faint scent of a bladder let loose in death.
Only moments passed and the three Nevermores stepped into the room; they saw me, let out a combined howl and ran towards me. I stepped back and they leapt as one unit, dropping to the ground right in front of Clint’s body. If there was one thing I’d learned about Nevermores it was that they were opportunists. They’d rather eat something already dead or immobilized than chase down a potential meal.
They tore into his body as I backed away. Only once did the female lift her eyes to me, the yellow iris and square pupils offset in her otherwise human face. We stared at one another, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say there was a flicker of human emotion there.
Leaving the feasting Nevermores to their meal, I made my way into the stairwell. I flicked on the flashlight and carefully headed down the stairs. There was no telling what kind of structural damage had been done by all the explosions.
At the bottom of the stairs I paused, recalling which way I had to turn to get to the lab. The decision was almost taken from me when a hand reached out and grabbed my arm. I snapped the club down on the yellowed wrist, the flashlight throwing its beam everywhere in the scuffle giving me only a brief impression of a petite female Nevermore.
She let out a howl and I ran to the left, jumping over the chunks of concrete that were everywhere. Concrete dust flew up and tickled my nose, the dry powder nearly odour free, but it still coated my mouth and throat, making me cough, which slowed my steps.
The doorway to the lab was in front of me and I yanked it open, jumped through and slammed it behind me. The rattle of a body being thrown against the frame shook me, but only for a moment. She was small and I thought I could take her if it came to that. But really, did I want to try?
I heard a groan off to my left and I snapped the flashlight up, the beam centering on a figure still strapped to the gurney where I’d left him.
Donavan turned his face to me. “You came back, Juliana, my love you came back.”
5
“No, it’s not . . .” I paused and thought through what I was about to say. If Donavan thought I was Juliana, he’d be more inclined to help me. I wanted to make sure I had the right vials; the right version of the cure.
“Donavan, which vials have the cure in them? Which one did you give to Seb . . . the big Nevermore?” I asked, keeping the beam of light in his eyes so he couldn’t see me clearly.
“Oh Juliana, I missed you so. You have no idea how badly I feel for letting you take Nevermore. Can you ever forgive me my love?” His voice was weak and he let out a sob. I steeled myself against the compassion that was rising through me. He’d been ready to kill Sebastian, he wasn’t a good man.
I licked my lips, tasted concrete and said, “Honey, I need the cure. I have friends I need to give it to.” The door rattled again and I glanced back at it. Donavan didn’t seem to notice the noise at all.
“Help me get up, help me out of these straps and I will get the cure for you my love,” he said, blinking hard, his eyes watering. I lowered the flashlight and stepped closer to him. His words made me think he was gone, his mind slipped fully into the madness that started when he lost Juliana.
Holding the flashlight under my armpit and the club between my knees, I undid the bindings that held him down. Donavan let out a groan and sat up, rubbing his wrists. “My love, thank you. Let’s go, we need to be free of this place. There’s a wicked woman here, she doesn’t understand how important you are to me. She forced me to help her first.”
A bubble of hysterical laughter tried to work its way out of me but I bit down on it. “I’m sure she’s gone. Now, the cure. Which vials?”
“Oh, yes. You have a friend, who is it?” He asked. His body was barely indistinct against the darkness as he shuffled carefully towards the shelving unit where the various chemical concoctions were kept. I tracked his movements with my flashlight. His hand was on a vial with a red sticker and a large black S on it.
I rubbed my hand over my face. “Lucy, my friend Lucy.” I thought using a name he was familiar would appease him. I forgot that he might not have such fond thoughts about Lucy.
“That bitch won’t be getting ANY of my cures!” He roared. “She helped the other one tie me down. They left me here to die.”
I cringed, guilt washing over me. I had left him here to die. There were no two ways about it.
“Juliana, my love, we must leave this place. The bombs will be bringing it down in very little time.” He reached for me in the darkness, my light picking up the edge of his movements.
