Page 44 of Princess (Marinah and the Apocalypse #5)

Marinah

We waited quietly, hiding in trees or taking cover in the dense foliage.

“Eagle is coming,” one of the Warriors higher than my position called out.

I jumped down and intercepted him.

“They’re ten minutes behind us. Soldiers, not hellhounds. I think they’re holding the hounds back in case they’re attacked again.”

“Rest a mile from here, and we’ll meet you after we take care of the soldiers.”

“Got it,” he said. He waved his teams to follow him.

King’s arm went across my shoulders. “Ready?” he asked.

“More than ready.”

We faded into the swamp.

The camouflaged uniforms didn’t hide the noise the soldiers made when they trampled through the mud and undergrowth.

King and I had discussed the red stripes before we left the island.

If they laid down their arms and took a knee, some might survive.

We had to end this war. If they opposed us, they would die.

Red stripes showed predominantly on the arms of the soldiers in the lead. The Federation’s fodder. Then came their well-trained military troops. We had hundreds of Shadow Warriors, but even though the soldiers outnumbered us, they didn’t stand a chance.

The chorus of cicadas, usually deafening, fell silent.

We attacked.

Gunfire erupted.

The thick, humid air filled with the acrid scent of gunpowder quickly. I ripped a man nearly in half with one clawed hand. Next, a woman’s head went flying with a strike from my other arm. We plowed through their soldiers, knocking guns from their hands and methodically killing them.

"Hold the line!" a human voice barked.

Bullets flew at us. Shadow Warriors went down. I kept moving forward.

I killed two men at one time by slicing their throats with my claws, picked up a woman and threw her at four soldiers.

I was on them before they realized what happened.

Even if I were trying, I couldn’t keep track of how many soldiers I killed.

They fell around me; their dying screams filling the swamp.

I eventually noticed soldiers running away.

“Throw down your arms and go to your knees, if you want to live,” King shouted at the retreating red stripes.

There was a group of about twenty-five thirty yards from us. Several turned and dropped their weapons. The others quickly followed and went to their knees. All had red stripes on their sleeves.

Warriors chased the soldiers who kept retreating.

The men and women who surrendered watched their fellow soldiers die.

I growled low in my throat, and they turned. Their expressions showed that they expected death. I kicked a rifle out of a woman’s reach.

“Do not move,” I said.

The woman closed her eyes as I gathered more weapons. Warriors stepped in to help. Once the area was secure, I looked at the men and women on their knees.

“Rise,” I said.

They looked at each other while I waited. First one, and then another rose.

“Cuff them,” I said.

Shadow Warriors held flex cuffs on their straps. The soldiers were cuffed to each other.

“Head that way,” I pointed in the direction we came from. “Another group of Warriors will point out the direction to take in about a mile. If you run, you will die in the swamp. If you lift a hand against one of mine, you will die. I am giving you one chance to survive. Start walking.”

A woman stopped; the man cuffed to her jerked to a halt a moment later. “Thank you,” the woman said.

I nodded.

A group of our men assisted Axel with the wounded Warriors.

The dead Federation soldiers at my feet left a hard knot in my gut, but it was too late for them.

I lifted my sword and sliced through the first intact neck I came to.

Other Warriors began the grisly task of beheading the fallen.

From the corner of my eye, I noticed Desmond helping.

He was too young for this but war was war and it always affected the young.

I found two men alive and dispatched them quickly.

They would not have survived their wounds.

King returned twenty minutes later. “Dead?” he asked and looked at the carnage around me.

“Dead for good,” I replied.

“You’re wounded,” Axel said.

I ignored his statement. “What about our men? How many did we lose?”

Axel grumbled but answered. “Thirteen dead. Another twenty-two critical but they have a chance. Sixteen wounded but they are upright and healing. Now it’s your turn.”

“There’s no time,” I told him.

“Then why am I here?” he demanded.

“Because you’re a pain in my ass. I don’t have any serious wounds.” I held up a clawed hand. “This is enemy blood.”

King walked over and glared. I ignored him too. I need to check on Eagle.

He grumbled but pointed to my right. Eagle’s men were lifting the injured and transporting them to Alpha 1. Eagle directed them but stayed behind after they left.

“We wait here and rest,” I said.

Thankfully it was a large patch of dry land.

Axel examined me and complained even when he discovered the blood did in fact belong to the enemy.

I was too tired to give him a hard time.

He checked King and Eagle who were fine.

Alden had a bullet in his upper thigh. Axel got to work and had it removed quickly.

He then went man to man, in search of more injuries.

He should have returned to the plane with Eagle’s team, but the stubborn man wouldn’t leave my side.

Just as sunlight came over the horizon, explosions lit up the sky about two miles from us. Our planes were taking out the Federation camp. It was time to run again.

“Return to the landing strip,” I told Alden.

“My leg is good and is mostly healed. I can run.”

I stared at him for a moment then nodded.

The ground beneath our feet rumbled as more explosions detonated. I heard an engine overhead and looked up. One of our planes roared above us.

When we arrived, the Federation camp was in disarray. Fires burned throughout.

The red stripes battled the hellhounds that managed to escape from the semi-trucks. We joined their battle and as long as they didn’t turn their weapons in our direction, we didn’t stop them.

After the hellhounds were defeated, I stood in even more carnage. The red stripes dropped their weapons and silently looked at us. Rifles were hurriedly collected.

I wanted the soldiers in charge. All that was here were red stripes. Where the hell were the commanders?

“Marinah,” an unknown voice said behind me.

I turned and gazed at a man in his twenties with a red stripe on his uniform. He looked vaguely familiar, but I couldn’t place him.

“I’m Terry Aims. I lived in Landan’s camp. I was caught while patrolling.”

I had seen him at Landan’s outpost. He’d lost about twenty pounds, and his red hair was filthy, making it appear brown.

“We won’t fight you.” He waved his hands at the other red stripes. “We will fight with you, if you will have us?”

“Can you trust these soldiers enough for them to carry weapons?” I asked.

“Yes,” he said. “They know the truth. They want the Federation destroyed as much as I do.”

“Come with me,” I said, walking away from the others. “I’m looking for those in charge.”

“They’re cowards and they left an hour ago,” he said.

“Land, air, or vessel?” I asked.

He smiled. “By land in armored vehicles.” His dull eyes brightened. “We’ve been placing salt in the gas tanks for months. It corrodes metal parts throughout the fuel system. It takes weeks to cause problems, and if we’re lucky, they won’t get far.”

I smiled back at him, and he grimaced slightly. Shadow Warriors were not attractive in Beast form, and my display of teeth would make any non-Shadow Warrior cringe.

“Is President Barnes with them?”

“Yes.”

“What about his wife?”

“She’s more than his wife. She made the serum they injected into us. She’s known as the brains behind the president. She’s with him.”

Fuck me. They would both die, and if I were lucky, my claws would have the honor.

“I was told there were more veteran soldiers here than red stripes.” We’d killed a large number but it wasn’t the number I was led to believe it was.

“They made some soldiers put on uniforms without the patches. It’s always been one of their tactics.” He looked around the camp before his eyes swung back to me. “I don’t think you need to worry about veteran soldiers any longer.”

I wasn’t sure how to feel about this revelation and wasn’t sure I could trust it.

“Move out,” I told the Shadow Warriors. I turned to Terry. “If you and your group can keep up, follow us. We’re going after the president. If one of you turns against us, you all die.”

“We will keep up,” Terry said.

The vehicle trail was easy to find. Once more, we ran.

According to one of the maps that Stevens gave me, there was an old highway three miles from our current location. We had to reach the vehicles before they hit the highway. Hopefully the salt in the tanks would make our job easier.

“Can you increase your speed?” I asked King.

He leaned over and rubbed his giant maw against mine. “We train for this.”

I smiled. “Let’s get Barnes.”

We left Terry and his group in our dust, though dust wasn’t the correct word. Muck, maybe?

One of the Warriors ran ahead and climbed a tree. He pointed to the east. “They stopped,” he called out. “Several have their hoods up.”

“Take three,” I said, and it was passed down the line.

They crouched where they stopped. We were breathing deeply and needed a minute or three to align the part of ourselves that made us Warriors.

King crouched beside me. I closed my eyes and took slow, deep breaths, using the limited time to meditate.

I pushed K-5 through every part of my body, starting at my toes.

It strengthened Ms. Beast, and she let out a hum of satisfaction.

No sign of Nova, but she appeared when she pleased, and I wouldn’t let thoughts of her hijack my meditation session.

Gone was any sense of peace Nikayla or the Shadow Women gave me. My mind was filled with bloodlust and revenge. The meditation focused my mind. The Barnes’ would die.