Survival Instincts, page 9
Skeever jerked to a halt.
Dani bumped against him but caught herself on the side of one of the cars before she lost her balance completely. “What—?” She frowned.
“Quiet.” Lynn gripped her tomahawk as her skin crawled.
Skeever growled.
Dani fumbled her spear into position, apparently now catching on to what Lynn had guessed the moment Skeever had stopped: he’d sensed something. And whenever Skeever sensed something and growled, it was something he perceived as predator, not prey.
Lynn scanned the area. Nothing moved in the sea of wrecks ahead. Not in the doorways or windows of the buildings around them either. A troop of monkeys clambered up a tower behind them, but Skeever stared dead ahead, so that wasn’t it. She pushed past Dani to grab his collar before he could attack whatever it was he’d heard or smelled. She wasn’t about to let him blunder into a fight he couldn’t finish.
“Do you see anything?” Dani held the spear with both hands again, but at least the tip pointed forward now.
“No.” Lynn straightened as much as she could with her hand around Skeever’s collar. “Could you climb up one of ’em?” She nodded toward the car beside them.
Dani nodded. “Right.” She turned and clambered up the rusted metal with the ease of practice. Once she’d gotten her footing, she scanned the area slowly, from left to right.
Skeever pulled against Lynn’s hold and showed his teeth.
She braced against his force and glanced up. She itched to prompt Dani but bit her tongue. Dani was a hunter; looking for predators and prey was what she specialized in.
The hairs on the back of Lynn’s neck stood on end. Either the glare of the sun reflecting off innumerable cars and trucks hid whatever approached or the vehicles themselves blocked it, but whatever the reason, Lynn saw nothing. She looked up at Dani, desperate for information.
Dani seemed to have forgotten about her. She stared ahead with laser focus. After a few seconds, she lowered herself into a battle stance and gripped her spear.
A spike of alarm coursed up Lynn’s spine, and she found herself fighting rising panic. She’s going to attack it—whatever it is. Her adrenaline surged so violently she felt dizzy. No, no, no, no. Presented with the suffocating threat of the Wilds, some people went on the offensive to gain a sense of control that they were desperate for. It inevitably left them wide open to the First Law of the Wilds: the second you exposed yourself, it devoured you.
Dani took off before Lynn could raise her hand to yank her down.
Lynn’s heart arrested, then lunged into a gallop.
Within moments Dani disappeared between the rows of vehicles. The top of her head appeared briefly whenever she passed a slope in the metal.
Shit! Shit, shit, shit! Lynn raised her tomahawk and looked around frantically. What do I do?
Skeever yanked again.
Lynn lost her grip.
He shot away, barked loudly, and disappeared between the cars.
Losing sight of him made Lynn’s stomach churn. Decide! She sprinted after him, forcing herself to blindly charge past wrecks. Every time she did, she expected something to jump her, but nothing did. Her heart beat so loudly it sounded like a drum in her ears: thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump. She spotted Dani two rows of cars away. Relief flooded her system. She leaped the hood of a car to get to her—right into the aftermath of the hunt, kill made. Lynn tried to soak it all up with eyes unwilling to focus on anything longer than a second.
A massive gray shape lay sprawled on a narrow strip of ground between wrecks.
Dani’s spear protruded from its chest, still trembling.
Dani stood motionless over the carcass.
Skeever bit down on its throat, seemingly uninterested that it was already dead. He growled and shook hard.
Then it registered what she was looking at: a wolf.
Oh no. The heat in her veins turned to ice and became solid, constricting her chest. There was always more than one wolf. Cold sweat ran down her back. She looked around wildly. “Skeever! Come here.” Lynn slapped her thigh.
Skeever growled but relinquished his hold with a whine. He licked his faintly reddened nuzzle and trotted back to Lynn. After shaking himself out, he pressed against her leg. Then his head jerked up, and he sniffed the air.
A sense of impending doom rushed up like storm clouds hounded by gale strength winds. The hairs on her arms stood on end. “We need to go!”
“What’s your problem? It’s dead.” Dani glared at her over the body of the slain wolf. She casually yanked the spear from its chest. “There was just one.”
There is never just one, she wanted to shout. But if she got into a shouting match, they would be here forever.
A growl started up so low in Skeever’s throat that Lynn felt it more than she heard it.
Fear threatened to overtake her. She knew it with absolute certainty now: they were coming; the First Law dictated it.
Dani still seemed oblivious to what was as clear as day to Lynn. She looked around but without urgency.
I could just leave her. She considered it, but only for a moment. She was not a murderer. Lynn gripped Dani’s arm. “We need to go!” She dragged her along.
“Let me g—” Dani’s gaze shifted from Lynn’s face to something behind her. Her eyes widened.
Too late! Lynn let go of Dani and raised her tomahawk even as she whirled around.
Skeever twisted and shot past her. He snarled and impacted audibly with something.
“Skeever!” Dani’s voice was shrill.
Finally, Lynn zeroed in on a second wolf.
Skeever’s momentum must have thrown the wiry animal over mere seconds before it would have jumped on Lynn. It snapped at Skeever’s shoulder as he stood over it and bit down on its throat with all his might. They both snarled and tumbled over the uneven ground.
The wolf raked the sharp claws at the ends of powerful hind legs across Skeever’s side. Tufts of bloody hair flew free.
Without thought, Lynn raised the tomahawk and sprang forward. She twisted her arm to get past Skeever in the tangled mess of fur and limbs and brought the sharp edge down with force. The blade connected with the side of the wolf’s head just as it spotted her coming.
Its jaws missed her arm by inches.
Bone crushed under the impact of the blow, then gave way.
A guttural yowl of pain started low in the wolf’s throat.
Lynn tripped but held on to the tomahawk, jerking it sideward as she fell. Pain tore through her shoulder, but she ignored it; she didn’t have time for pain. Her heart hammered in her chest to the tune of: get away, get away, get away! She let go of the tomahawk and scrambled back, then kicked the weapon with all her might.
The sudden jerk halted the wolf’s outcry. The yellow eyes widened before they abruptly dimmed. Its hind legs twitched but didn’t raise again.
Skeever still bit down. He renewed his hold and growled as he shook.
Dani stood wide-eyed, staring, spear raised.
Lynn sucked in air. Every ounce of wisdom in her body told her to get the fuck up, but she was transfixed by the fact she was still alive.
It’s dead. Relief rushed over her but was replaced with ice-cold fear a frantic heartbeat later. Something sharp scratched over metal somewhere nearby. When she jumped up, her legs didn’t hold her and she sank to her knees. Her heaving, shallow breaths were making her light-headed. Breathe! She lowered her head and inhaled deeply. Her tomahawk stuck out of the wolf’s skull only a few steps away, but it felt like miles. She pulled her knife free from her boot instead and stood again.
“Behind you!”
Lynn turned just before the wolf was upon her. Its weight was crushing, and she went down in a sprawl. The knife fell from her hand and skidded over the ground, under one of the cars nearby, out of reach.
Dani’s spear flew uselessly overhead.
The animal went for her throat right away. Its breath smelled like death. Saliva dripped onto her cheek.
In a flash of panic, Lynn leaned her head away as far as it would go and pushed her arm up like a pitiful shield. Pain as hot and acute as fire flared through it as the wolf bit into it. Even through her coat and sweater, the teeth sank deep into her flesh, and she cried out. Her back arched like a bow over her backpack.
Dani screamed her name, which seemed like an especially useless thing to do right now.
The wolf snarled and clambered more firmly upon her. It raked her thigh on the way up.
Another guttural cry tore from her throat. She tried not to move her arm. Maybe if she didn’t move it, the wolf wouldn’t shake it. If it did, she knew her limb would snap like a twig. Sweat pearled and ran down her neck, and her heartbeat rocketed. Her bladder threatened to let go. She had to close her eyes against the horror of it all so she could think.
The wolf bit down harder.
For a second, the pain became so intense Lynn thought she would black out. Think! She remembered the shard weapon in her boot. With great effort she managed to draw up her leg and reach down. She pulled the shard free and opened her eyes so she could aim her thrusts. The sight of the bared teeth around her own arm caused a wave of panic so strong that her stomach lunged up. She managed to choke vomit down. Panic tore at the frayed remnants of her self-control. Focus, dammit!
The wolf growled and bit down harder.
Lynn set her jaw and kneed it in the side as hard as she could.
The wolf yelped and turned its head to bite at her leg. The move freed her arm—and left the wolf’s neck exposed.
Lynn’s breath seized. Her heart thundered. This is it! Her throbbing arm fell to her chest. She gripped the shard more firmly and stabbed. For a heart-stopping second the thick hide resisted—then the glass cut through and sliced deep.
The wolf uttered a cry so chilling that Lynn nearly dropped the shard. She sucked in a ragged breath and yanked the shard down as hard as she could. Hot blood dripped down and squirted across her arm.
The large muzzle swung back to her face, and she lifted her bloody arm in defense even as she tore the improvised knife through flesh and muscle again.
Skeever crashed over her. The force of his impact pushed the dying wolf off her.
It snarled, but Skeever’s bulk kept it from standing up.
Skeever found purchase on its throat and tore.
Lynn pressed her bloody arm against her chest and scrambled forward without thought. Her mind had blanked in the face of death. She fell over the wolf as she overbalanced from the weight of her pack but stabbed even as she did so.
Skeever tore again, and this time a large chunk of fur and flesh gave way.
The lights in the wolf’s eyes went out entirely.
Lynn couldn’t stop her arm from lifting and coming down to drive the shard in again and again and again. A ragged laugh clawed its way up her insides, but she couldn’t let it out. If she let it out, she would fall apart.
Dani fell by her side and grabbed her arm. She shouted something.
The rush of blood in Lynn’s ear washed it away. She should stop stabbing; there could be more wolves. Why can’t I stop?
“Lynn!” Dani yanked at her arm.
She dropped the bloody shard and fell back on her ass, trembling. Lynn fought for breath, for control. Focus! She tore her gaze away from the wolf’s ruined neck and stared up at Dani. It was only then that she fully registered Dani was there.
“Oh shit, shit, shit. Lynn? Are you okay?” Dani kept her hands in the air above Lynn’s arm as if she was afraid to touch her. “I couldn’t find my spear. The axe stuck. Shit, are you okay? Does it hurt?”
The barrage of high-pitched questions made Lynn’s head scream in agony. “Shhhh,” she rasped. “S-Shut up. Are there m-more?” Her entire body went cold all at once, and she could barely focus her thoughts.
Dani seemed reluctant to look away, but after a few seconds, she seemed to get a grip on the panic that had dominated her features. She stood, then hesitantly stepped away from Lynn and climbed onto a car, spear in hand.
The sight brought back bad memories, but Lynn couldn’t worry about Dani’s actions right now. With effort she drew her legs under her and stood. Pain flared in her hip and shoulder, but mostly in her arm. Blood seeped up through the bite marks in her coat. She looked down at the wolf again.
Skeever had torn away much of its throat and chewed noisily on its flesh. The dog looked a mess—blood everywhere, tufts of hair missing—and he trembled.
“It looks clear.” Dani jumped down. “Can you—do you want to move?”
Lynn nodded. She felt cold and numb. Shock. This was shock; it must be.
“Let me get the—” Dani yanked repeatedly at Lynn’s tomahawk until it came free.
Lynn watched her without really registering anything about the scene. Fatigue crept in as silently as the wolves had. She needed a place to collapse, to gather her wits and tend to her wounds. Her gaze slid down to Skeever. His left hip was covered in blood, and he drew the leg up whenever it lowered to the ground. She needed to inspect his wounds as well. A deeper sense of lethargy blanketed her. Now if only she could will her feet into motion.
“Do you…?” Dani hesitated. “Do you want me to carry your pack?”
Lynn lifted her head and stared. A bitter and somewhat manic laugh bubbled up inside of her so fiercely that Lynn thought she might explode if she didn’t let it out. “Y-You nearly got me killed, and now you want to carry my pack?” She didn’t recognize the high pitch to her voice.
Dani’s eyes widened before she looked away. “I just thought you might be hurting.” Her voice was no more than a whisper.
The laugh welled up again like a living entity, even harder to suppress this time. “Of course I’m hurting!” She felt ragged and raw inside and out. The chaotic tumble inside her skull intensified, and she struggled to keep her train of thought. As the wind picked up, the smell of death invaded her senses. Blood and piss and shit: that was what life was about out here in the Wilds. “You just don’t get what it’s like out here, do you?”
Dani opened her mouth to speak.
Lynn cut her off with a wave of her bloody hand. Now that the floodgates were open, Lynn couldn’t stop her raging emotions from bursting out. “It’s not like hunting!” She pointed to the mangled form of the nearest wolf, imposing even in death. “We’re not in control; they are.”
Dani followed the motion of her hand and stared at the cadaver. Her gaze lingered on the wolf when Lynn pressed on.
“It’s not like…like hunting an elephant; it’s not planned out. Out here, you don’t get to go home and pull a gate shut!” She was being loud—too loud—but she couldn’t quiet herself. A tremor started in her injured arm and spread to her entire body within seconds.
Dani folded her arms across her chest and scuffed the ground with the tip of her boot. “I saw only one, and I took it out.”
“Gah!” Lynn kicked a car. “You need to get it through your skull that life out in the Wilds isn’t just taking out one threat! Everything is a threat!” She crouched down and fumbled her knife out from under the car where it had slid. Her head buzzed as if it were filled with angry bees. She stood shakily and pointed the blade at Dani’s chest. “The second you drop your guard in the Wilds, you die.”
Dani stepped back. Her gaze slid down, eyes wide. Her spear came up with a jolt.
Lynn’s barely noticed. Her head pounded in tune with the throbbing pain in her mangled arm. “So if you’re going to keep charging wolves and putting me in harm’s way, I’d rather fight it out now, because I’m not going to let you kill me without a fight.”
Dani stared at the knife. Her eyes watered, and she blinked to clear them even as she looked away. She swallowed with difficulty, then swallowed again. “I think we should go.” Her voice cracked.
After a few more seconds of pressing the point, Lynn cradled her arm again. “Damn right we should.”
Chapter 6
Dani turned away from the road. “We’re here.” Relief was evident in her tone.
Lynn came to a halt and inspected the meandering cement path. It was cracked and overgrown, and led to a sprawling brick building almost entirely hidden from view by a curtain of trees and brush. The promised shelter appeared structurally sound save for the glass entrance doors, which had been shattered. Much of the copper lettering on the overhang was gone, but Lynn could piece together the word chapel.
When Dani had said she knew a place nearby that was usually secure, Lynn had agreed to wait before she inspected the damage to her arm. Since then, there had been no reprieve from her chilling thoughts about the damage the wolf’s teeth might have caused. They had traveled in complete silence. Her fingers had gone cold and stiff. Her coat sleeve was bloody. Several times she’d been on the verge of telling Dani to stop out in the open or to find a hole in the wall to use as temporary refuge, but every time the promise of safety had won out over her barely suppressed panic. She hurried after Dani.
Skeever shot ahead.
Dani only just managed to grab the dog by his collar before he could blunder in.
He sniffed busily within the bounds she allowed.
Lynn scanned Skeever’s raised tail, his scraping front paw, and his eagerly extended head. It was his hunting pose, not his attacking pose. He still favored his left leg, but it didn’t hinder him as he clambered over the bramble. “Well, he smells something in there.” She hoisted her arm higher up against her chest and gripped her shoulder with her numb fingers. Hopefully, she had remembered her father’s words correctly, and the arm elevated like this would stop the bleeding.
“Rats, probably.” Dani took a step forward to balance herself as Skeever pulled against her hold. She frowned. “But something bigger could have wandered in. The last time I was here, the doors were still intact.”
