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“What is it, boy?” I ask, my voice low. Trying to move quietly, I make my way to where I had leaned the gun up near the hay bin.
The wind shifts and I catch a new scent intermixing with the heavy scents of the livestock.
It’s a dank dog smell, tinged with rot and dirt.
Fuck.
The cows must pick up on it. Their heads toss up and their eyes go wide. Vibrations run through the ground when their heavy hooves paw at the dirt.
Finding little reassurance in my weapon, I move to stand behind Thor, peering into the heavier woods, my ears straining for any noise. Soft creaking of cold wood whispers back.
A flash of brown flickers between two trees. I think Thor saw it too because he pauses in his growling, his ears perking in that direction, and lowers himself into a crouch. Misty lets out a low whine behind me.
I can’t see it, but the smell grows stronger. It’s getting closer and is smart enough to stay hidden. How much humanity remains within them? Can they plan? The ones I’ve seen so far have been completely animalistic. But, are all of them?
Panic crawls up the back of my neck and my heart races, almost drowning out the cows nervously stamping the earth behind me.
Another flash, this time further to the left, like it’s aiming to skirt the barn and head to the house.
Toward Dani.
The overwhelming need to get back to her, to protect her, has me running back through the barn. Hugging the exterior, I slink along the wall to the corner closest to the house. I can’t see anything in the open area, but the generator shed almost completely blocks my view of the woods with only a narrow gap allowing me to see just a glimpse.
I have to get back to her.
In a hastened, but wary, pace, I start crossing the open ground to the steps leading into the kitchen when a growl behind makes me pause. I’m suddenly on my face, a heavy weight on my shoulders, claws digging at my back. A hot breathed maw opens and clamps over my shoulder. The searing crushing pain tears through my thick coat, rending my flesh beneath.
A thump and a shift of the weight lets me roll on my side, struggling to free the shotgun I had landed on. I see a flash of dark near me as Misty growls and barks at the legs of the giant wolf on me. Its wide claws press against my hips as it turns and snarls at Misty.
Another vicious bite tears into the back of my thigh and I can’t hold back the scream that burns from my throat. Its bloody teeth snarl over me as it turns again to snap at my heeler.
She darts nimbly away from it, years of practice with asshole cows paying off.
Sharp claws dig into my calf, but I’m almost able to raise the gun. Rolling over, I try to kick it back as it fights with my much smaller dog. A large flash of white transforms into Thor leaping at the snarling beast. His heavier size is a better match against the enormous shaggy creature.
My injured arm doesn’t want to cooperate. A slick pool of blood forms beneath me making the gun slippery in my fingers. I manage to get the barrel pointing at the animal, but with the flurry of brown fur and white in a whirlwind fight over top of me, it’s hard to get a shot without the chance of injuring Thor.
Daggers of claws pierce the front of my thigh and drag downward. Agony seizes my body as the muscle is shredded nearly to my knee. My vision begins to haze and a brief lucid thought tells me it’s probably because I’m losing too much blood.
Squinting through the threat of double vision, I zero the barrel on the largest patch of brown I can see and pull the trigger.
A scream that sounds almost human emanates from the creature as it falls on top of me. Still writhing, the horrendously jagged mouth lands around my arm, gnashing it between the spires of its teeth. Green eyes meet mine, but I can’t see humanity, just rage. Kicking with my good leg, I manage to push it down just far enough away I can drop the barrel down to line up with the wide muzzle.
I pull the second trigger on my double barreled shotgun. The back of the creature’s head erupts into a spray overhead, raining down blood and gore over me and my two dogs that still furiously bite and tear at the thrashing corpse. My leg gets caught by the reflexive spasms, and I know I’m being injured more, but a numbing feeling is taking over my limbs. I feel like I’m floating as I weaken, blackness covering the edges of my sight.
Sounds begin to grow fuzzy. Strangely, I’m drawn to the warmth of the body crushing my legs. A frigid cold overtakes me, but I’m too tired to shiver.
I need to get to Dani.
Chapter twenty-six
ALEXANDER
Obsession.Thatiswhatthis is. An obsession withher.
I have learned she loves chocolate. And that, for a moment, when those brown little bites disappear behind her trembling pink lips she has a serene look on her face. A contentment. A peace that she hides when I have her bound on my table.
But, in my inept attempt to show compassion, I allowed her to dig through the pile of scavenged goods that my dogs have been returning with. Little did I know she would slip one of those glowing little rectangles away. It was mere luck that I entered her room while she was using it, her thumbs tapping against the screen with a rhythm that called me from the hall.