Read New Species 02 Slade Online
Authors: Laurann Dohner
swamped Trisha as she watched the New Species duo
make hand signals to each other before they separated.
One of them sneaked up behind the hunters while the
other one moved to attack from the side.
Voices started to carry up to Trisha until she knew
without looking they were scary close. She continued to
use the binoculars, hoping she was low enough on the
cave floor to make a smaller and harder-to-see target
with her chin on the sleeping bag. The four hunters were
nearly out of her lens range.
“I know those shots came from this direction,” a man
with an accent stated firmly.
“Buck and Joe Billy said they were going to climb to
high ground to take a look-see.” The deeper voice had
the same Southern accent. “Do you think they killed that
two-legged animal?”
“I don’t know,” a new voice without an accent
answered. “But they aren’t answering their radio. Look
sharp, guys. Those animals have minds the way we do
and sure aren’t as easy as shooting elk. Wild animals
don’t talk back or carry weapons the way we do.”
“Fucking James,” another man without an accent
laughed. “Elk? Come on. Let’s compare them to
something at least similar. Maybe they are closer to apes.
Those think and walk on two feet, don’t they? For all we
know, Joe Billy and Buck are screwing with us.
Remember that time last year when they ambushed us
just for the hell of it to see if one of us would piss our
pants? I’ll bet you twenty bucks they will spring out at
us any second.”
“You’re on,” a man without an accent said and
laughed.
Trisha moved her binoculars from the four men to
where she’d last spotted the two New Species but
couldn’t find either of them. She continued to scan until
she finally spotted one but was shocked at where she
located him.
He jumped from one branch high inside a tree to
another branch in the one next to it. The jet-black haired
New Species amazed her with his sense of balance and
grace. He stopped practically on top of the four hunters
who didn’t even realize he watched them from above.
Trisha’s heart raced while she kept her binoculars
glued to the black-haired New Species as he jumped
again to land in the top branches of the tree directly over
the moving hunters. He gripped the trunk and seemed to
be studying the men below him. He withdrew a handgun
from the holster strapped against his chest. Every fiber of
her body told her he would attack.
The black-haired Species suddenly dropped to a
lower branch. It was the most graceful thing that Trisha
had ever seen. He obviously had done it very quietly
because the men below him never glanced up. He
stepped down to another lower branch, walking it as
though it were a balance beam, and moved with the men.
He suddenly jumped out of the tree and landed hard on
two of the hunters below him.
Trisha gasped but kept her binoculars trained on the
three fallen men. She saw movement as the two other
hunters spun to look at what had happened behind
them. She saw a flash of black and the redheaded New
Species seemed to appear out of nowhere as he rushed
the two men from behind.
He leaped, tackling them as if he were a football
player taking down two rival players. She was close
enough to clearly hear the grunts of pain. In seconds the
four hunters on the ground lay motionless and the two
New Species stood over them silently.
Trisha got a really good look at both men and was
assured they were definitely Slade’s men. They had the
distinct facial anomalies that most of the New Species
had. The black-haired Species had a smaller nose than
most and his features were telling. She suddenly had a
feeling that he had to be part primate. The redhead had
cat eyes similar to Justice North, indicating he had to be
feline.
The two men withdrew something from the lower
pockets of their pants that resembled thick plastic ties
and secured the downed men’s hands behind their backs.
When they’d handcuffed all four of their prisoners, they
yanked their ankles up and bound them with more white
ties until they had them hogtied. The black-haired
Species give a thumbs-up sign to his redheaded
companion.
One of them laughed and Trisha moved. Her body
was sluggish because she’d lain in the same position for
too long but she was able to carefully rise to her feet. She
leaned out a little, staring down at the men who were
about sixty feet from the area where the two dead men
lay.
“Hello,” she called out.
They didn’t jump or seem surprised when they
turned their heads to gaze up at her. She let that sink in.
Did they already know where I was? She decided they
probably had. One of them, the redhead, nodded at her.
“We’ll get to you after we dispose of the dead
bodies. Your kills?” He jerked his head toward the two
men who lay far below her. “Two of them, right? I smell
two different scents.”
Shocked, Trisha just gaped at him. There was no way
they could have seen the two dead bodies from where
they stood. They would have had to walk around a few
more trees and a huge boulder. She finally nodded.
The black-haired Species pushed his hair away from
his face as he peered up at Trisha. “Where is Slade? We
caught his scent but it’s faded as though he’s been gone
for hours. Why did he leave you, Dr. Norbit?”
“He said there were too many of them.” She paused.
“He wanted to cut down their numbers. He seemed
certain if he started hunting them that some of them
would get spooked enough to leave but he should have
been back by now. He said if I fired the guns he’d hear
and come running.”
The redhead nodded. “That is a good plan. It
accounts for why we found two empty camps with the
scent of blood but no men.”
Two camps? She wondered if they’d found the one
where she’d been held or the one Slade had attacked the
night before. She didn’t really want to know. She just
worried about Slade. He’s promised to come if she
needed help and he had to have heard the gunshots but
he hadn’t arrived yet. Two of his men had to rescue her
instead. Is he hurt? Dead? Maybe he is still on his way.
“Is there any way you can tell if Slade is close?”
Trisha silently hoped they could.
The redhead lifted his head and sniffed. He shook
his head. “I don’t scent him and if he comes, it’s from
afar. We will get you down from there when we are
done. Sit and stay put. You’re safe now, Dr. Norbit. Our
people will send a helicopter here to fly you to safety
and we will find Slade if he does not return within a
reasonable time. We have teams spread out for miles
searching for you both. I would track his scent but I’d
rather wait until you are secured on the helicopter. You
were our primary concern since Slade can take care of
himself.”
Trisha was speechless over being told she was the
New Species’ primary concern. She worked for them,
sure, but Slade was one of their own. She was glad the
man below her had so much confidence in Slade’s ability
to take care of himself though. He must be really good at
survival. Slade had told her that he’d trained with most
of these men and they had to know him really well.
The black-haired Species leaned down and pulled
something from his bottom pocket. Their pants seemed
to have a lot of them. Trisha crouched down but watched
what he did. It looked as though he had some kind of
bulky cell phone he spoke into. She saw his lips move
but didn’t hear his words. She quickly realized he spoke
into a satellite phone. She’d seen a few of them a time or
two. He hung up and replaced the phone into his lower
pocket.
Trisha moved back away from the edge, not wanting
to watch them remove the bodies from below. She
wondered what they would do with them but didn’t ask.
She sat on the sleeping bag and hugged her arms to wait.
“Where are you, Slade?”
The silence squeezed at her heart at not knowing if
he was okay or if he’d never come back to her. They had
some things to discuss if both of them came out of this
alive. Did what had happened between them mean
anything or was it just one of those trauma-induced
moments? She uttered a curse word. What if he had only
slept with her and treated her the way he had because of
the situation they were in? She pushed those thoughts
away. It was too painful.
* * * * *
pure rage gripped him. They’d prevent him from killing
all the humans who meant to do harm. The distant
sounds of gunfire had come from Trisha’s direction. His
heart raced as he jumped over a fallen log, used it to kick
off, and leaped over a small ravine. He landed hard,
crouched, and then rose up.
“Easy,” a male called out. “Stop running.”
Slade snarled, his head jerked up, and he spotted a
familiar face from his perch on a tree limb twenty feet in
the air. “She’s in danger.”
“No, she’s not. Smiley and Flame have her. They
spotted her perch and are intercepting the males in her
vicinity. She’s well taken care of.” The guy jumped,
landed on a pile of dead leaves, and straightened. “You
can’t be seen by humans right now.”
“I must go to her, Ascension.”
“She’s safe. We have her, my friend.” The other
male’s gaze swept down Slade’s body before he met his
eyes. “You’re soaked in blood and gore. You’ll terrify
her if she sees you this way. It’s a pretty horrific sight
even for me. How many did you kill?”
“Many.” Slade’s body began to relax. Trisha would
be safe if Flame and Smiley were near. Both males were
very good. “She’s safe? You’re sure?”
“You found her a secure location. No human is going
to reach her before our males do. She is safe. Calm. May I
approach? You’re injured and feral at the moment. You
have that caged look we know so well.”
Slade crouched, breathed heavily, and tried to catch
his breath. “I won’t attack.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I wasn’t sure how far you’d gone
or if you’d lost it.” Ascension stepped closer, slowly, and
crouched in front of him until only feet separated them.
“I’m fine.” Slade stared into the other man’s eyes.
“Good. We knew you’d survive but weren’t sure of
your state of mind if you had to kill. We found some of
the kill zones. Why didn’t you just stay with the doctor?”
“They were closing in on us, there were too many,
and one group of them found her the first time I left her
alone. She has no survival skills and allowed them to
walk right upon her. I had to turn the tables to make sure
no more could harm her.”
Ascension watched him silently, frowning. “I smell
her on you. It’s hard to pick up over the stench of blood
and death but it’s there.”
A soft growl rumbled from Slade. “And?”
Ascension reached over and clasped his shoulder.
“She’s human, soft, and a doctor. They take oaths to save
lives. I don’t want to see you harmed.”
“I need to go to her.” Slade tried to straighten but the
other male’s firm grasp on him only tightened.
“Listen to me.”
“What?”
“You’re feral right now. Your mind is calmer than we
feared but you’re walking death. You don’t have a
mirror. Your features and eyes have the wild look we
tend to get when it happens. She can’t see you this way.
You’d only terrify her. I’m under orders to find you and
bring you back to Homeland. Allow me to take you
there.”
Slade growled. “No. I’m not done here. There are
more of them.”
“Orders are—”
“They attacked her, one of them beat her and tried to
rape her. She could have died when they forced the SUV
off the road. They declared war on us and I want it
finished. Any that get away could attack again at a later
date.”
The hand eased and released. “I can’t bring you in if I
haven’t found you. I understand but you must stay away
from her until you regain your ability to suppress your