Fierce Fighter Read online

  It was Ernest and Audrey. I met Chad’s eyes and he gave a tiny head shake. We shouldn’t interrupt by leaving. Fine. We were eavesdropping and we both knew we shouldn’t. But we also didn’t want to interrupt if someone was going to convince Audrey to get over her anger about the situation.

  “Shield,” I sent him on a tight band that Audrey wouldn’t hear.

  “I wanted to apologize, Audrey,” Ernest said in English. “I understand you only want to go home. I’d probably be just as pissed off if it was me.”

  “What the hell are you saying?” Audrey said in Primary.

  “Shit,” Ernest said, of course understanding nothing. “How do I do it again?”

  I could see Audrey from where I was hiding. She tapped her temple.

  “Just think it?” he said, rolling his eyes. “Okay.”

  “I wanted to apologize, Audrey,” Ernest broadcast, so we could hear his thoughts, too. Of course, he didn’t know how to shield. “I understand you only want to go home. I’d probably be just as pissed off if it was me.”

  “Are you kidding me?” she sent back. “How could you possibly understand what it’s like to be stuck on a planet and in a time you don’t want to be.”

  The amazed look on Ernest’s face made me smile. The first time you send and receive telepathically on purpose is pretty damn cool.

  “I’ve lost my entire life, family, community, and world, Audrey,” he sent. “I think I have a clue what it’s like to be stuck somewhere like a fish out of water.”

  “Oh,” she sent back. “I never thought of it that way. Maybe you do get it.”

  “And now I’ve lost Zoe. She’s still alive but I can’t get to her. I don’t know exactly where she is. And I just… I miss her so much.”

  He couldn’t disguise the pain in his thoughts.

  “Shit. I’m sorry, Ernest. I know exactly what that’s like. I’m sort of in the same situation. My boyfriend is missing back home in our time.”

  Ernest took Audrey’s hand and they sat there for a moment.

  “Okay,” Audrey sent. “I’m going to help. Because even if I can’t help my own situation right now. At least you don’t have to be in the same boat. Don’t worry, Ernest. We’ll get Zoe back… or die trying.”

  He shook his head.

  “Why are you people helping us? You could lose your chance to get back to your world.”

  “Look, it’s like this. It’s the right thing to do. That’s what those do-gooders, the redheads, say and they’ve definitely rubbed off on Yumi and Shiv. And me, I guess.”

  I grinned at Chad.

  “It’s just what the good guys do, Ernest. They do the right thing. And helping rescue Zoe is the right thing to do. That’s all.”

  “Well, you don’t know how much I appreciate it,” he sent.

  “Actually I do,” Audrey sent. “You can’t lie in the mind. Now come on, let’s get back to the cabin and get this freak show on the road.”

  “Okay.”

  They stood up then Audrey broadcast at the top of her mental lungs.

  “Hey, Dvorski. Tanaka. I’m found. You were right, as always. You can come back now.”

  Chad and I exchanged a smile.

  Audrey was back.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  YUMI

  The silent canoes glided across the dark water like silk. We were on our way to the outpost where we were going to leave Cynthia and Penny. The plan was to arrive in the evening, sleep over, and then get to the prison camp before dawn tomorrow.

  Matt, Nessa, and Penny were in one canoe. And two of their most trusted people were in another. Ernest, Audrey, and Matt’s mother were together because Audrey didn’t know how to paddle. Shiv and Grace were another pair and that had left Chad and I in the last one.

  I didn’t mind though. We had paddled together many times on the lake where he and Gracie had grown up. And there wasn’t anyone I trusted more in a fight. The most kick ass partners ever were back. And I wasn’t such a simpleton that I figured that everything would be all sunshine and roses from now on. But at least we weren’t fighting.

  Everything went perfectly, like clockwork.

  I had my first twinges of misgiving, though, when we beached the canoes and looked up to where the outpost should be.

  There were no lights.

  “Shouldn’t there be lights on there? I thought Matt’s people were staying here?”

  “Nah,” Chad said, helping me flip the canoe. “They’re probably just already asleep.”

  “Right,” I said, and followed Matt up the gradual incline that led up to the new outpost that had been built next to the derelict trapper’s cabin that was falling down and from the era of the Hudson’s Bay company from when they had traded furs with the aboriginal people around here in the 1800s.

  I ended up next to Nessa, who was carrying a sleeping Penny in her arms. The woman looked exhausted.

  “Want me to take her?” I offered. “You look like your arms are going to fall off.”

  “Oh sure. Thanks. I am pretty tired,” she said, and we carefully transferred the little girl. Her small body was solid and warm next to mine and I felt a stab of envy that I pushed away. Nessa was a great person and a wonderful mom. She deserved the great family she had. “I thought David would meet us out here. He usually does.”

  I frowned.

  “Nessa, maybe we shouldn’t walk right up to the door,” I said. “Can you catch up with Matt and ask that we send Chad and Audrey to check it out first?”

  Nessa looked worried but didn’t question me.

  “I’ll be right back,” she said, hurrying away towards the front of the line where Matt led the way.

  The movement suddenly halted and Matt made his way back to where I held Penny.

  “Okay,” he said, not seeming concerned. “Chad and Audrey have gone up. Let’s wait in the abandoned trapper’s cabin, everyone.”

  I scanned the area, searching for something out of place.

  My instincts were screaming at me but I didn’t know what exactly was wrong.

  Nessa came back and stood beside me. She tucked a lock of her daughter’s hair off her face. I shifted my weight from one side to the other, as we waited for Chad and Audrey to return.

  Without warning, a scream came from the direction of the outpost, then a gunshot.

  “Shit,” I said. “Nessa, come on.”

  I took off into the thickest part of the forest that I could see with Nessa crashing along beside me. The little girl didn’t wake but she moaned. God, little kids can sleep through anything.

  We tore through the forest as I searched for somewhere to hide. Finally we reached a cliff that stretched above us about fifteen feet. There was thick stand of spruce on one side that no one but a rabbit could get through. And several trees had fallen and got caught on some other trees, making a place to hide behind. It was the best we were going to find and I sank to the ground behind our shelter, pulling out the machete I had borrowed from Matt.

  Nessa crouched beside me, breathing hard. We looked at each other and waited. Time stretched. We were too far to hear anything, so we had no idea what was going on with the others. But when the fighting had started I had known immediately that I was not to wade into the fray, but to protect this little girl.

  With my life, if necessary.

  The minutes stretched to hours and I noticed Nessa’s eyes drooping.

  “Lie down and sleep for a bit,” I said. “I’ll keep watch.”

  She nodded, lay down curled around her little girl, and went to sleep. I stayed alert, not knowing whether the danger was over, or only getting closer.

  My eyes must have closed only for a second because when I opened them again, I was still squatting in the same position. But I was looking into the evil face of a giant man that I recognized right away from his description. This was Hadley. And he had been told to kill us.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  YUMI

  The night twisted its dar
kness around us, suffocating me. We had thought that we would be safe here in the forest near the outpost. We had thought we could hide here.

  We were wrong.

  Somehow he had found us.

  I jumped to my feet, slashing out at Hadley with my huge knife in the hopes that I could use the element of surprise in besting him. He had pretty good reflexes for someone so big and he flinched back avoiding my strike.

  He carried a baseball bat that he swung at me with such force that I’m sure it would have taken my head off if it had connected. Fortunately, I too have excellent reflexes, honed form a lifetime of training and fighting.

  I ducked and darted away from where Nessa and Penny were lying, leading him away.

  He followed, as predicted, and I got in a few kicks and punches that seemed to do nothing to his enormous form. I stayed out of his way for the most part until he managed to clock me on the side of the head with his meaty fist, making my ears ring and my vision blur.

  I stumbled back away from him, trying to get my bearings and get ready for another round. But he had turned and was listening.

  Shit.

  I could hear it too.

  The little girl was crying.

  He honed in on the sound immediately and ran in the direction of where Nessa and Penny were hiding.

  No! I had to protect them.

  I sprinted as hard as I could and got in front of him, putting myself between Nessa and Penny and the beast who would harm them. I held my knife out.

  “Fuck off, you bastard,” I said. “I’ll cut your goddamn heart out.”

  He didn’t say a word, only tried to get to them. We were now trapped in this spot that had seemed like a good place to stand and fight — because no one could sneak up on us — of course, that was before he had hemmed us in here.

  I slashed at him and managed to draw blood on his arm. He didn’t even seem to notice, except that he got angry at me and swung so quickly at my head that I didn’t have time to get out of the way but could only block.

  I heard a sickening crunch and the blinding pain told me that I probably had a broken bone in my arm. He moved towards Nessa, who looked terrified.

  And then I thought of it.

  What was I doing, fighting only with my body?

  I pulled up a thick shield over Nessa, Penny, and my mind and then I screamed mentally at him as hard as I could.

  He only kept going.

  What the fuck?

  I examined him mentally. God damn it. I couldn’t catch a break tonight. He had a natural mental shield. Some people were born with them. He hadn’t heard anything. And his mind was fine.

  He reached Nessa and I ran at him, stabbing him in the back. But stabbing in the back is notoriously tricky and my knife bounced of what seemed like titanium ribs.

  Nessa screamed as he picked her up bodily and just threw her at the cliff. She hit hard and then lay still.

  “No!” I screamed as he moved towards the girl.

  I moved as fast as I could, grabbed her up with my good arm and ran as hard as I could towards him, diving and crawling through his tree trunk like legs.

  On the other side, I scrambled up, putting the little girl on my shoulder with my uninjured right arm. Then I ran back towards where I thought the outpost was.

  While I ran, I broadcast as loudly as I could.

  “Help. Chad, Audrey, Shiv, Grace, Ernest. I need help. Hadley is after me and he wants Penny.”

  I was running hard but I could still hear him thundering through the forest behind me. I put on a burst of speed and didn’t see the stream in front of me.

  We fell and I knew that I had twisted my ankle. Tears filled my eyes. I would not let him get her.

  As we fell, I turned at the last minute, landing on my back and pulling the girl to my chest to break her fall. She had stopped screaming and crying and was now silent looking at me with big scared eyes.

  I held her close, trying not to cry. I tried to stand up and my ankle buckled under me. What was I going to do? I couldn’t run. I couldn’t fight with a broken arm. And I had lost my knife somewhere in the struggle.

  The giant appeared then and he smiled an evil smile.

  He reached down and I kicked at him with my good leg. But I might as well have been a fly bothering a bear.

  Without any effort at all, he tore the little girl out of my arms and carried her away.

  “No!” I screamed. “No!”

  I had never felt so helpless in my life and I struggled to my feet, limping along on the twisted ankle after him. Suddenly someone appeared beside me.

  “Yumi? I got here as fast as I could.” It was Chad, who had a black eye and a nasty looking slash across his cheek. A moment later, Grace ran into the clearing we stood in. “Shit what happened? Is your arm broken?”

  “He took her,” I started crying. “I swore I would protect her. I swore to myself I wouldn’t let him get her. But I couldn’t stop him and he took her. He ripped her away from me. And I couldn’t do anything about it. Just like before. I couldn’t save her.”

  I collapsed then but Chad caught me, wrapping me in his arms as I sobbed. It was all too much. But soon the pain in my arm and my ankle took me away from everything, as I gratefully lost consciousness.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  CHAD

  The night was cold and dark as Audrey and I approached the outpost to clear it before everyone else came in. As soon as Matt told me that Yumi wanted Audrey and I to check things out I started to worry.

  First, I wondered why she didn’t want to go with me instead of Audrey because I thought that after we spoke today we were good. Yumi is always up for a fight, so, I assumed she couldn’t come and that’s why she sent me with Audrey.

  Second, if Yumi wanted to be careful about approaching the building, then I wanted to be careful. She has a sixth sense about sniffing out danger and I trusted her completely.

  Third, I was getting my own weird vibes from the place now that Yumi thought things weren’t right.

  Matt gave us one of their precious guns.

  “I’ll be careful with it and I won’t waste the bullets,” I said and he looked relieved, as if he hadn’t been sure that I would understand how valuable both the gun and the bullets were.

  Audrey moved into position on my left and we crept silently towards the building.

  “Let’s go around the back first,” I sent.

  “Okay.”

  We checked out the clearing at the back of the building. Nothing. We approached and looked in the windows. The rooms were empty and dark. No one in them. But I wouldn’t expect anyone to be in the kitchen at eleven o’clock at night.

  “I’ll take the right side, you take the left, then we’ll meet back here before we go to the front, okay?”

  “Got it,” Audrey said, and I was glad she had come with us. She was invaluable as a leader, a fighter, and a strategist. In her former life she had been a real bad guy at the top of a whole department of bad guys. And right now, I was glad she was on our side.

  I made my way along the side of the building doing a complete check of the surroundings and the interior — what I could see, anyway.

  Nothing.

  Audrey and I met at the back and she shook her head. She hadn’t found anything either.

  “The front then. Let’s go.”

  We moved out and hid in some bushes so we could watch. She shrugged. There was nothing to see. We needed to approach and try to go inside. There was definitely something going on and there was no way I was taking everyone in before Audrey and I had cleared the whole building and declared it safe.

  We ran in a crouching position until we got to the door. We both put our backs to the wall and I held my gun at the ready. Slowly I opened the door and stepped in, pointing it into the room, which was a long skinny entranceway with a closet.

  I stepped in and checked it out. No one and nothing.

  “The closet.” Audrey sent.

  I nodded, opening the
door and to my immense surprise a man charged out, attacking us. He had a knife in his hand and he was going to bury it in Audrey’s heart.

  She screamed and I reacted, I stepped forward and shot him in the head. He slumped to the ground and Audrey bent over gasping in terror.

  We didn’t have any time to recover before people swarmed through the door, alerted by the shot, no doubt. They looked crazed and I wondered if Brett had them hopped up on some drug. I only hoped that our people had been alerted, too and were either running or preparing to fight.

  “Go!” I yelled at Audrey. “Get out.’

  We fled the building as twenty or thirty people poured out. We were outnumbered and, as I heard a couple more gunshots, I realized we were outgunned, too.

  “Run, Audrey. We can’t fight them. There’s too many.”

  “They’re in the trapper’s cabin,” she yelled over the fighting and we both altered course, heading straight there.

  When we got in, I saw that only the adult men and women who had come to fight were left. Yumi and Nessa were nowhere to be seen. Audrey and I joined the fray, taking out Brett’s soldiers as quickly as we could.

  “We need to get out of here,” I shouted to Matt. “We’re outnumbered.”

  “Retreat,” he yelled, making sure that everyone got out, while I fought off a couple more. Then he and I left, too, before they could overwhelm us.

  Matt’s people scattered in all directions and I started to wonder where Yumi and Nessa were.

  “Yumi,” I broadcasted. “Where are you?”

  I couldn’t see Audrey, Grace, or Shiv anywhere. Matt had disappeared. I wondered if he and Nessa had planned a meet up point in case anything happened.

  “Grace? Shiv?”

  “Here.” Grace’s voice was faint. Clearly she didn’t have her usual range and neither did I. I headed in the general direction her mental voice was coming from but stopped as I was hit by the sound of Yumi’s mental scream. I dropped to my knees clutching my head, trying to get away from the agony.

  It was excruciating, even though I could tell it came from pretty far away. I threw up a hasty shield to block the sound before it did serious damage to my brain. I only hoped the other Telepaths were doing the same.