Page 61

The Big Bad Wilde Wolf

B lackness covered the sky like a dark glove from the hand of God.

The Big One had turned the lights off on this old, ugly ball of sin called Earth, spinning around in space, leaving mankind this side of the hemisphere cold and alone.

The cool night air whipped across Kage’s face and through his hair like a nasty slap as he sped down the rutted passageway between the tall, narrow trees.

He slowed, stopping at one tree in particular.

Looking about with his night goggles in focus, he punched the tree hard, and the crackle of speakers reverberated in the forest like a sizzling scream.

Disorient your enemy with noise. Be missing in action. Only be seen when it’s too late… Wolf out on the prowl… Low to the ground… glowing blue eyes looking into the souls of martial demons… Keep goin’ till you reach the magical river, then

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Music blared throughout the forest: ‘Monster,’ by Kanye West traveled on the wings of the air, touching dewy leaves and the undercarriage of large, venomous spiders.

It had a way of digging deep inside your soul and rattling your bones.

Reaching down into the cool soil, he dug until he was able to grip the smooth metal device.

He pulled the lever, then hopped back on his bike and drove a few feet ahead.

He turned off his motorcycle, laying it down on its side behind a different tree.

Reaching into his jacket pocket, he removed a thin tarp he had folded up into a small square, covering the chopper, then placed a couple of large rocks on it to keep it from flying off, and covered it with a few branches to keep it hidden.

His heart thundered in his chest as he saw two silhouettes about a hundred feet away, their guns raised as they slowly came forward.

It was obvious the way that they were moving that they hadn’t yet seen him.

Their heads moved from left to right, no real focus.

He crawled away until he was at a good distance from them, then sprinted back to the house, the music still booming as his lungs burned in his chest.

When he made it inside, he skulked around back.

He’d already turned off the motion detectors before leaving the homestead, which allowed him to persist in absolute darkness.

After placing his thumb on an electronic lock, it went from red to green.

The crypt door whined as he swung it open.

He looked down into the deep, dark chamber.

This space expanded under the full length of the house.

He entered the clandestine, dark chamber, and turned on the electric lanterns that graced the opaque barriers.

The walls were dark gray brick and black grout, and smelled a bit like plant decay, a bit like firecrackers, too.

This was the prohibited murky lower level of his home, his little slice of hell on Earth.

Making his way deeper into the area, he turned on two mainframe monitors. Horizontal lines etched across them as they came awake from a deep slumber, and then the black and white picture came in clear.

Three men were approaching his property now, and after the first group of men cleared the area, two black cars pulled up front.

Something about this felt off. Different from before.

These guys weren’t novices, or ass-kissers of Gramps brought in at the last minute to do his dirty work.

Native country boys of Texas had an aura about them when they were out on a hunt.

Human or animal made no difference. No, these men moved distinctively—no strolling, like his Texan brethren.

Their movements were tighter, more cautious.

Oh… I believe I know who y’all are, now.

Well, well, well… isn’t this interesting.

I figured y’all were coming, sooner or later.

His lips curled in delight as he slipped on his bullet proof vest and two black gloves with the fingers cut out, then directed his attention to several crime and punishment mechanisms, his own personal handcrafted torture devices.

He’d gotten the idea after his time in the hospital—after the things he saw and endured, some of which still haunted him.

Making such a device wasn’t opening a painful wound.

No, it was paying homage, turning the brutal tables once and for all.

A glowing red light shone onto a metal chair reminiscent of an old school electric chair.

Sharp, long spikes stuck out from the armrests, back, and seat area.

He then moved to the back of the room and turned on the large incinerator.

Thoughts of that poor girl he’d found in the funeral home drawer in his youth flashed in his brain.

Whenever she crossed his mind, he always said the same thing, a sort of prayer: ‘May you still be restin’ in peace, Rebecca Sanders.

’ When he got a bit older, he began to anonymously send her mama flowers every year on Rebecca’s birthday, until four years ago, when that woman had died.

He felt like he owed her because, had it not been for Rebecca, he would have never accepted his dark side.

The side of him that found peace in reclusiveness. In death, darkness, and in light.

Kage started that bad boy up, stoking the flames while hearing the noise of breaking glass in his house as those boys attempted to make entry.

Their muted voices could be heard through the computer monitors playing in the background, helping to keep him abreast of all that was transpiring around him.

It was time for Stone to go after the settlers…

His internal version of MeeMaw’s story was different.

See, Kage didn’t believe Stone did the right thing.

He wanted to have his elk and eat it, too.

There was no forgiveness left inside of him.

Only pain and a taste for blood. Kage began to place various weapons on his person, getting ready for battle.

He turned on the remainder of the deadly apparatuses in the chamber, grabbed his newly sharpened axe, then made his way up the wide stone steps into the living quarters of his home…

Poet clutched the tall man’s waist. A fistful of soft brown leather made her palms hot.

Long jet black hair waved in front of her, and the smell of cologne filled the air as Phoenix navigated fast amid the towering trees.

He maneuvered like a cheetah through thick brush, darting about like quick strikes of lightning.

Her heart was thumping so hard, it was damn near painful.

Perhaps her jumbled emotions were causing the agony?

Everything had changed in a matter of seconds.

It was like a dream… a very bad dream. One minute she had her mind set on some buttery popcorn and a cold Pepsi in front of the television with her lover, and the next thing she knew, her man was shoving guns in a duffle bag, then marching her out the door.

Don’t pretend you didn’t know this man was trouble!

she chastised herself. You knew it. You called it before you even let your guard down.

It was only a matter of time before the truth was revealed.

Now you’ve fooled around and fell in love, and you’ve fallen hard.

Just try to get through tonight… try to trust him…

Phoenix, a man she didn’t know but was forced to bet her life on, had kept silent when he’d helped her onto the motorcycle, only identifying himself, then telling her to hold on and not let go before he took off like a rocket.

They’d been moving so fast at one point, the skin on her face felt as if it were going to fly off and drift into the sky.

Besides the sound of the roaring bike tearing through soft ground and shredding grass and small branches, things were fairly quiet.

But then, she heard a strange noise. Like the rustling of trees, only it was louder than the wind could have caused.

Then she heard something else… a car in the distance?

“Oh, shit!”

A big black car with its high beams on, barreled towards them.

She yelled and pointed as Phoenix turned to his left at the exact same time, raised his gun and shot several times through the car, riddling the vehicle with bullets and shattering the glass.

A cold sweat came over her, and her voice caught in her throat.

Before they’d gotten too far, she noticed splatters of blood and heard faint groans of pain from whoever was inside the car.

Phoenix patted her hand as if in reassurance that all was well… but all was not well. Oh my God… Lord, please protect us!

After a minute or so, Phoenix slowed down in what appeared to be the middle of nowhere.

Is this still Kage’s property? It had to have been.

It was such a vast area, there was no way anyone could walk it all.

He suddenly turned to the right and coasted about fifty feet until he came to a complete stop.

From her left came a noise. Phoenix seemed rather calm, though she could tell by the way his muscles tensed beneath his jacket that she was still holding with a death grip: he’d heard it, too.

“Stay right here,” he whispered. She wanted to scream as she saw him walking away.

Anxiety crept into her cells and chewed away.

She didn’t want to be left alone. She wanted to know where the fuck he was going, and when he was coming back!

It was too hazardous to ask questions. Too perilous to risk being overheard.