Page 32 of Dark Medicine (Strange Gifts #2)

The Chinook landed safely in the west pasture of the ranch, and Uri Bellum raced toward the first responders to explain that he was part of Moore’s core team. With that piece of information, the police allowed the team to pass the barrier and head toward the others who were waiting.

Dan Henry turned to see the group of men jogging in his direction. His eyes grew wide at the sight of them, their size and appearance intimidating even for a warrior like him. His expression of surprise and then joy filled his line-etched features as he recognized Uri.

“Uri!” he said, walking toward his old friend. “I can’t believe you’re here. Karen? Where is Karen?”

“She’s safe, Dan. These people have made sure she’s safe and the boys.” Dan Henry’s face fell in relief, tears streaming down his cheeks.

“I-I can’t…” he sobbed into his friend’s shoulder.

“It’s okay now.” Uri gripped his shoulders and gave a manly pat on his back, soothing his friend. Uri understood the pain he felt. He understood what it was like wondering every moment whether your family would live or die.

Major William Groome stepped up and looked at Uri. At first, his expression was one of surprise and disgust, then it was anger, and then it softened. Once upon a time, he felt as though Uri Bellum was his rival for everything he believed he wanted; now, he understood that Uri Bellum was a victim like the others, like himself, if he admitted it.

“I’m glad you’re alive, Uri. I’m glad we’re all alive. We… I was fooled by her, and I’m ashamed of myself. I’m ashamed of the way I was manipulated. She got away with it, Uri. She got away with everything. I think she had this planned for months. The fire consumed the ranch so quickly we didn’t even have time to get our personal belongings. Then the outbuildings caught fire, and she made sure that we all panicked. We all got out, but Moore was left behind.”

“I don’t think anyone will shed tears for that,” said Uri under his breath.

“No, no, we won’t. But K is missing. No one can find her, and my guess is she cleaned out his funds before this all happened.”

“Did you see which way she went?” asked Adam. Groome shook his head, shrugging his shoulders.

“Honestly? I didn’t care where she went as long as it was away,” he said.

“Spread out!” yelled Kane. “Find that woman and bring her to me!” Kane took off with Flip, Adam, and Spook on his heels. Ben and Juan headed towards the outer buildings, searching the area for possible underground tunnels.

Uri started to run when Groome held his arm.

“Who are they? Is that…”

“Yes, it’s them, and I’m going to help them. We owe it to those children, Groome. They’ve helped me and Dan, and I won’t turn my back on them again. More than the fact that we owe them because of what Moore did to them, we owe them as brothers. You should help too. We need you to help. Remember what that felt like, Groome? Helping others?” The others stood beside Groome.

“I’m done,” he said resolutely. “I have enough money to live comfortably, and I don’t want anything to do with anyone anymore. The brotherhood for me died a long time ago. I’m going to a little place I bought in Mexico a few years ago. You can find me if you want me. But, Uri? Don’t find me.” Groome walked away, his shoulders slumped, his body defeated.

“I’m going to get my sons,” said Fredericks. “I have to make sure that they’re safe before I make any decisions. I’ll stay in touch, Uri, but don’t expect to hear from me any time soon.”

Uri shook the man’s hand and nodded. He understood Frederick’s motives. His wife was dead, murdered by Moore and K. His sons needed stability and explanations, and that was not a job done quickly.

“I want to help,” said Cullen, stepping forward. “Bill and I are finished. I know my reputation is tainted, and there may be some who don’t trust me, but I do still have some connections. I want to be useful again. I need to be useful again.”

Uri smiled as he shook hands with Cullen. He wished Fredericks good luck and pulled Cullen closer, explaining the situation.

Two hours later, Kane, Adam, Flip, Spook, Ben, and Juan returned to where the men still stood, waiting patiently.

“Nothing,” said Kane, staring from Uri to Cullen. The ash and smoke smell filled the air, Kane’s face, as well as the others, blackened with soot. “We tracked her to an underground tunnel but lost her. Even Spook couldn’t get a handle on her.”

Cullen eyed Kane warily and then stepped forward.

“I-I owe you all an apology. I’m truly sorry, and I want to help.”

Kane looked the other man up and down. He didn’t know Cullen personally, but he knew his reputation pre-Moore and knew that he was a fine soldier. He could give a shit about his sex life. He didn’t care who he was married to or who fucked whom.

“We could use your talents,” said Kane. “I need men that will have connections to the military that may help us.”

Cullen let out a long slow breath as Kane took in the surroundings. The ranch, completely gutted by fire, smoldered behind him. Not one of the buildings remained, and the firefighters struggled to keep it under control. He cursed under his breath, wondering if one of the Gifted had indeed set the blaze.

Flip, sensing his friend’s question, looked over the top of Kane’s head at the flash of blonde hair moving quickly. He pushed the others aside and took off toward the tree line. The others followed, believing it was Karena Viskoff.

Flip plowed through the trees and brush, his two-hundred-and-seventy-pound body much faster than it should be. A wave of blonde hair flashed in front of him, her face turned slightly to judge the distance. Flip stepped up his speed, Kane and Adam flanking him, Spook on his heels.

Branches and brush lashed at their arms and faces. The thick forest contained no clear pathway for them, but they maneuvered through the trees, leaping over dead trunks fallen to the earth. The woman’s hair snagged on limbs, and she yelped in pain more than once. Her hands flew up to protect her face as she ran mindlessly toward freedom.

Reaching a wide meadow, a stream wove its way between the tree line and the green pasture. The woman turned again to see how close her captors might be and missed her step, stumbling forward against the rocky streambed. Slamming against the rocks, her body bounced, and she turned, screaming out in pain. Seeing her pursuers so close, her eyes filled with fire, and she turned, raising her hands.

“Stop!” Flip yelled. “We’re not with Moore!”

She froze, eyeing him warily. Her hands were still raised, blood dripping from both. The palms revealed flickering flames. The heat and intensity were felt even a few feet away.

“We are not with Moore,” said Kane, breathing heavily. “We are like you. We are all like you. We are gifted.”

“Phfft! Gifted? Is that what you call the hell I’m in? Gifted? It’s a curse, asshole, a fucking curse! That son-of-a-bitch deserved to die, and I was happy to speed that process along,” she cried, tears streaming down her dirt-streaked face.

“It can be a curse,” said Flip, stepping closer, kneeling slowly in front of her. He rested against his heels, both hands on his thighs so she could see them. Trying to appear smaller, less intimidating, he spoke softly. “It can also be a God send. I’ve saved hundreds of lives, and my friends are among those. We can help you. We’re going to help the others as well.”

“The others?” she said, scrunching her nose in the cutest way Flip ever saw.

“Yes, there are dozens more…”

“We think,” said Spook.

“We think there are dozens more like us. We want to find them and help them.”

“And when you find them?” she asked warily.

“We’re going to help the world,” he said quietly. He reached out a big bear paw to the girl, his hand three times her size. Her fingers now covered in blood; her palms cut open from the jagged rocks. “I’m Phillip Cho, but they call me Flip.”

The young woman eyed him cautiously, her gaze flitting from Flip to Kane to Adam and then back to Spook. She spotted the two other men behind him but ignored them.

“ Nadine Ellis , but they call me Nat.” She looked at her bleeding hands and reached back, splashing them in the creek. The sting made her hiss through her teeth, the red streaking the crystal-clear water. Flip gripped her elbow, gently lifting her from the ground.

“It’s nice to meet you, Nat. This is Kane, Adam, and that’s Spook. His real name is Van, but…”

“You can call me whatever you like,” said Spook, grinning. He stepped forward to shake her hand, and Adam and Kane noticed the possessive stance Flip took, blocking Spook’s path. They grinned at one another and turned to head back through the forest.

“Back there is Ben and Juan. They’re also part of our little band of misfits but help us with security and other things. So, you set the other fires,” stated Flip casually.

“I did, and I don’t regret it. If you’re like me, you already know what Moore did, and that woman isn’t much better. I watched them. I saw what they did to those they captured and experimented on. Do you know what they made them do? What they did if they didn’t perform? I saw ! I know !”

“I’m sorry you saw all of that, but the information could prove useful to us. What do you know about her?” asked Kane.

“I know that she’s been hunting down the dust bunnies, killing them off one by one unless they do her bidding.”

“Dust bunnies?” asked Adam.

“Yea, those of us who whiffed the dust, the pink dust,” she said with a smirk.

“Dust bunnies,” laughed Flip. “I get it. We call ourselves the Gifted. That’s what we are, and when we all learn to own our gifts, it will be even clearer that the name fits.”

“Whatever you say, big guy,” she said, grinning up at him. She looked at Kane and Adam with a smirk. “Kane and Adam? Really? Is Abel around?”

Flip’s heart did a backflip, and he smiled awkwardly at the woman beside him. He was wrong in his assessment. She wasn’t average or mediocre at all. She was spectacular.

She was easily five-feet-eight, around one hundred and thirty pounds if he had to guess. Her blonde hair was the color of wheat, her eyes the color of cornflowers. She had this perfect grouping of freckles on each cheek and a small dimple in her chin. Long black lashes shaded her eyes, her red lips pink and flushed from running. She wore tight, skinny jeans that revealed her curves perfectly. The plain gray sweatshirt was speckled with sweat and water, but he knew beneath, she would be just as beautiful.

Flip hadn’t even noticed Adam’s hand on his arm.

“You okay, Flip?” he asked with a grin.

Flip jerked his arm away and cursed his friend. No doubt, he recognized what Flip was feeling for Nat and was reading his biological reactions.

By the time they reached the others, the fires were smoldering but under control. Cullen stepped forward and looked at the girl, studying her face intently. He recognized her from photos and files he’d reviewed.

“You’re Nadine Ellis?” he asked.

“I… y-yes,” she said, stepping back, only for Flip to step in front of her.

“I saw your file. That’s how I know you. You set the fires?” Nadine nodded, looking at the man that seemed to know so much about her.

“Well, I, for one, would like to thank you for my freedom. I promise you, Miss Ellis, we will do everything in our power to help you all find the others and live the lives you want for yourselves.”

“You are the weirdest group of people ever!”

Nadine nodded at the strange group as they headed toward the Chinook helicopter, still waiting for the team to return to Wyoming.

“I’m not riding in that thing!” she yelled.

“It’s the way out of here,” said Flip. “Or we could leave you to answer the questions of the police and fire investigators.”

“Okay then, I guess I’m riding in a helicopter.”