Alex Finch: Monster Hunter

  Sam snorted, and my defenses snapped up. "You really didn't get much sleep."

  I looked at him, anger overriding any potential embarrassment. "Hear me out. Research is something I am damn good at." I don't swear often, which tends to make it more effective when I do. It certainly got Sam's attention. "I did a boatload of cross checking, and some in depth reading, and I came to the same conclusion every time. The same stories, the same myths, are imbedded in every culture."

  "That doesn't make them true."

  "What if it does? Open your mind. Your own cousin is a walking, talking myth, but you can just refuse out of hand to believe that there may be more truth than fantasy behind them?" Frustrated, I let out my breath and pushed hair off my face. "We found an entire town underground. A town, Sam, that someone deliberately spent a lot of time and money to preserve."

  "How do you--"

  "My dad's an architect. I know support work when I see it." I was so frustrated I wanted to smack him. Instead I used a verbal slap, knowing it would hit its mark with stinging accuracy. "How long ago was Jake attacked?"

  Sam flinched, and guilt wrapped around my frustration. "Ten years."

  "And in all that time, you never stopped to think there may be more than one?"

  "You think I'm stupid?" He got angry, and I welcomed it. So much easier to argue than to watch him tear himself apart over something that was not his fault. "Of course I thought of it! My parents never stopped looking for--"

  We both jumped when his cell rang. Sam picked it up, and froze, staring at the screen. All the color drained out of his face.

  "What?" I whispered. "Sam?"

  "It's Jake." Swallowing, he swiped the screen, glanced at me, and put the call on speaker. "Where are you?" All we heard was a low moan, and crying in the background. "Jake?"

  "Sam--hold on . . ." His voice faded, like he'd pulled the phone away from his mouth. We found out why a second later. Harsh coughs burst out of the phone, followed by a series of groans. He came back, sounding weaker than before. "God--that hurt. Sam?"

  "I'm here." He clutched the phone. "Are you--what happened?"

  "I need you to . . . get here. I can't protect--damn . . ."

  "Jake--talk to me, Jake." A loud crash startled us. I let out a gasp and grabbed Sam's wrist. He looked at me, dread on his face. "Damn it, Jake--"

  "Jake can't talk right now." We both stared at the phone, the young, female voice completely unexpected. And it sounded familiar. "The monster hurt him, so bad." We could hear tears in the girl's voice. She cleared her throat and kept talking. "He saved me, and that green-eyed devil hurt him." I clapped one hand over my mouth as an image of green eyes and darkness flashed through my mind. "Please, you have to help him."

  ~

  Sam clutched the phone, and he looked panicked. "I--"

  "Katie?" I leaned closer to the phone, so I wouldn't have to shout. I was pretty sure I remembered that voice from one of the tiny dancers classes I taught.

  "Yes."

  "It's Alex, from the dance studio. Do you remember me?"

  "Alex--yes, I remember. You're the really pretty dancer."

  I blushed, glancing over at Sam, who studied me, eyebrows raised, like he was seeing a new side of me. Well, he was--no one at school knew about my dancing. Until now.

  "Katie, are you safe right now? Can you stay where you are long enough for us to find you?"

  "Yes." She sniffed. "The devil's gone. But Jake tried to stop it--he tried!" Panic had her voice escalating.

  "I know he did, Katie. Is Jake still unconscious?"

  There was silence after my question. I hoped it meant she was checking him, and not gone. "I can't wake him up."

  "It's okay--"

  "Is he still breathing?" Sam practically shouted over me. I shook my head at him, frowning.

  Katie answered before I told her she didn't have to. "Yeah. But he's bleeding a lot."

  I pulled the phone out of Sam's hand, to keep him from interrupting again. "Can you tell where you are?"

  "No. It's dark--I don't know, I can't--" I heard her panicking, sobs choking her.

  "Katie, it's okay--"

  "You have to get us out of here!"

  Katie was losing it, fast. I drew on my experience of dealing with traumatized girls in dance class. "Focus on my voice, Katie. Just on my voice." Her ragged breathing started to slow down. "Tell me everything you can see."

  "The devil came up from underground--" Katie started crying again.

  "It's okay, sweetheart." I motioned for Sam to start driving. "We're on our way. What can you see?"

  "An open hole above me, like--in the street, what's it called--a manhole cover."

  I looked at Sam. "What else?"

  "I can--I can hear water running!" She got excited. "It's right above us."

  "Keep talking to me, Katie, describe your surroundings." I pulled out my phone and brought up the GPS tracking app. Lowering Sam's phone I whispered to him. "What's Jake's number?"

  He told me and I punched it into the tracker.

  "Alex?"

  I brought Sam's phone closer. "Right here, Katie."

  "I think Jake's battery is dying. The phone keeps beeping . . ."

  "It's okay, sweetheart. We're on our way to you right now." I took in a shaky breath. "I need you to do something really hard and scary, but it will help me find you. I need you to turn Jake's phone off--"

  "No!"

  "Listen to me, Katie." I talked over her hysterical crying, fear squeezing my heart. "We have to keep the battery running as long as possible. I'm tracking you right now." I looked at the screen on my phone, watched the app I designed pick up Jake's signal. "I just need a little more time, but the phone has to be active for me to find you."

  "Okay." She sniffed. "I'm turning it off. Please hurry, Alex."

  That plea rang through my head as I punched commands in, trying to get the app to work faster. "Come on . . ."

  The countdown popped up on the screen. Just a few more seconds--

  The counter stopped, then started blinking. I'd lost the signal.

  "No--" I tapped furiously, trying to save what had already been captured. "His phone died."

  Sam glanced over at me. "Did you find him?"

  "Not quite. Where are we?"

  "Headed for town hall."

  "Got it." I watched the dots appear on my map, showing where Jake went the last hour, and where his phone was when it died. "He's somewhere behind . . ."

  "Alex."

  "It's loading--I really need to upgrade this," I muttered. Finally, the thumbs up appeared in the corner. I looked over at Sam. "He's behind the courthouse."

  With a curse, Sam pounded the steering wheel. We were stuck in the typical afternoon traffic snarl--and with all the decorative brick planters used to separate traffic, turning left here was not an option. Not for another couple miles.

  He looked at me--and my heart jumped at the gleam in his eyes.

  "Hang on, Alex."

  "What are you . . ." I saw what he was going to do. I dropped both phones and braced myself. Right before we jumped the brick planter divider.

  The four wheel drive ground at the brick, carried us up and over. I cringed as the undercarriage scraped on the way down.

  And Sam kept going. I held on, swallowing a scream as cars swerved to keep from hitting us. He punched the gas, taking us across traffic and jumping the sidewalk.

  "Sam!"

  "Almost there." We bounced off the sidewalk, into the parking lot behind town hall. He shot across the nearly empty lot. "Hang on."

  He twisted the wheel and skidded to a halt next to the sidewalk. Grabbing my wrist, he hauled me across the seat. I snatched up my phone, tumbling out of the driver's side.

  Sam caught me, set me on my feet, and pulled me after him, ignoring the people who stared at us. He dragged me around the side of the courthouse, my ankle giving me fits at the abuse. I clenched my jaw and focused on staying upright. Running with someone almost a
foot taller was not easy.

  He stopped so abruptly I slammed into his back. Clutching his arm, I peered around him.

  There was no one here.

  "You told me he was behind the courthouse."

  "I lost the signal before the app could finish . . ." My voice faded as I spotted the phone, half hidden under a wood bench. Dread shot through me, and I picked it up. Sam snatched it out of my hand, cursing. "Jake must have dumped it, so no one could track him." I rubbed my eyes. "We've been tracking the phone he doesn't have anymore."

  "How do we find him now?"

  "We follow the clues. Katie told us what was around her. We have to keep looking."

  Sam grabbed my free hand and headed west. "Katie said there was water nearby. Do you think she meant the beach?"

  "No, she said there was water running--" The obvious location nearly slapped me for not seeing it before. "I know where." I slid the phone in my back pocket. "Come on!"

  I switched direction, heading for the old public garden. Once the new botanical/Japanese/Chinese garden opened, it was pretty much deserted. And it had a river running through it, along with several stylized brass manhole covers. Yes, I've spent some time there; Mom and Dad love it for garden and outdoor space ideas.

  Once we got past the art deco main gates, I had to slow down. My ankle started twisting on me, and I knew it wouldn't take much more abuse.

  "Alex?"

  "I'm okay, just my ankle. Head for the river--"

  "Why didn't I think of that?" He leaned in and kissed my cheek before he sprinted through the trees.

  I stood there, dazed, one hand on my cheek. I could still feel the warmth, the pressure of his lips against my skin. "Snap out of it. Alex," I whispered. "He's just grateful."

  My heart so wanted it to be more, but my mind knew better.

  Limping after him, I made my way down the slope to the edge of the river, and spotted him at the first bend. The main path angled up along this part of the river, blocking the average stroller's view of the base of the hill.

  I watched Sam drop into the open manhole, and picked up my pace, afraid of what he might find. I didn't want him to face it alone.

  My ankle finally rebelled, and I clutched the nearest tree, cursing the pain. I took in a deep breath, shoved off, and forced myself to move through it. I'd done it enough times in dance class and onstage. I could do it here, when it was so much more important.

  I reached the open hole, and glanced in. Sam leaned over a sprawled figure, both of his hands bloody. Katie stood next to him, one hand on his shoulder. To my relief, there was a metal ladder attached to the wall. I climbed down as quickly as my ankle would let me.

  Sam looked up, grey-blue eyes focused, and angry. "Jake's alive."

  "Oh, thank God." I wasn't sure Sam felt the same way, not after what happened to his mom. I lowered myself to the damp ground, and saw the decorative cover. Or at least what was left of it. The solid, heavy bronze had been twisted almost in half.

  I remembered the huge claws of whatever stalked me, and shuddered.

  "You came." I looked at the girl next to Sam. She studied me, wide brown eyes filled with the horror she must have seen.

  "Hi, Katie." With a sob, she launched herself at me. "Hey--it's okay." I rubbed her back. "You were so brave. Now I need you to be brave a little longer so I can help Jake."

  "Okay." She let me go, and I knelt beside Sam.

  "How is he?"

  "Bad." I looked at all the blood and pulled off my hoodie, handing it to him. "Thanks. Blood doesn't bother you, does it?"

  "What do you need?"

  He looked at me, gratitude on his face. "Check the bandage on his leg. That was the worst injury, but I tied it so fast, I'm not sure it's tight enough."

  I crawled around to Jake's right leg. Sam used his sweatshirt as a makeshift bandage, and the thick fabric was already soaked through.

  "Sam, we have to get him out of here. He needs a doctor."

  "No--doctor." Jake's raw whisper froze my breath. The same dark eyes I remembered looked up at me, clouded with pain. "Hey, Alex."

  "Hey."

  "Don't panic." A smile tugged at his mouth. "Not going to--eat you."

  He moaned, clawing at Sam's hand.

  "Stop fighting me, Jake. You need medical help." He grabbed Jake's hand and held on. "I can't take you home. Dad'll kill you on sight."

  Jake closed his eyes, swallowed. "I know."

  "We need to get you out of here." Sam slid his right arm under Jake's back. "And you're going to have to help, as much as you can."

  Jake nodded--and let out a harsh cry when Sam pulled him up.

  "Some warning next time?" he whispered. His face was dead white.

  "Okay--we're standing up now."

  "Why don't you--just leave me?"

  Katie gasped behind me.

  Sam draped Jake's arm over his shoulders. "Because I owe you."

  They studied each other, until Jake finally nodded.

  "Alex." Sam gripped Jake's wrist. "Help me stand him up." Crouching next to Jake, I wrapped one arm around his waist. "We go on three. One, two, three."

  We all groaned at the effort, but we got Jake to his feet. Now all we had to do was get him up the ladder.

  Jake leaned into Sam, his gravel rough voice hardly more than a whisper. "Access tunnel. For maintenance." He jerked his head at the tunnel on his right. It did look bigger than the others. It also meant we would be underground. With the devil.

  Nodding, Sam tightened his grip, glanced over at me. "Just keep moving. And if I say run, you run. No questions, no arguing. And take Katie with you."

  I swallowed. "Okay."

  Katie huddled next to me, one hand on Jake's limp right arm. "We'll be all right, Jake. You scared the devil away."

  He managed a smile. "Just for you, kid."

  "Let's go," Sam said.

  We pulled Jake into the tunnel, and Sam, bless him, produced a key ring flashlight. Before he could turn it on, I heard a tapping ahead of us. I reached over and grabbed Sam's hand. "Wait," I whispered.

  He looked at me, clearly annoyed. "What . . ." His voice died, and I knew he heard it now. A soft tap tap, like a cat's claws on cement. Only much bigger.

  Sam pulled us over until we hit the curving tunnel wall. Katie huddled against me, and I wrapped my free arm around her, tucking her into my side. I hardly dared to breathe. I was afraid my pounding heart could be heard down the tunnel. It slammed into my ribs so hard it hurt.

  I heard that same tapping behind me last night. From whatever stalked me.

  I got a glimpse of it then, but having Jake right next to me as I heard that same tapping again proved beyond doubt that it wasn't him.

  Jake's whisper had me practically jumping out of my skin. "We have to move. It has my scent."

  "Mine, too," I whispered back. Sam's head whipped around. I nodded, answering the question in his narrowed eyes. Katie whimpered. I leaned down, took her hand. "Hold on tight," I whispered. "We might have to run."

  She nodded, her brown eyes almost black in her too pale face. I looked back at Sam, and he gestured to the tunnel, made a sign for moving. I nodded to let him know I understood, and tightened my grip on both Jake and Katie.

  We slid along the wall, every tiny noise making my heart pound harder, faster. The tapping seemed to pace us, not getting closer, but unfortunately, not fading either. I didn't know how much more my heart could take--it was still recovering from last night. At least I wasn't alone this time.

  Light appeared ahead of us, and now I understood the true meaning of the light at the end of the tunnel.

  Sam leaned Jake against the wall, moved to me and whispered against my ear. "I'm going to get the car, bring it in as far as I can. If you have to run, leave Jake."

  I jerked back, stared at him. He was serious. When I opened my mouth to protest, Jake shook his head. I shook mine right back at him. With a faint smile, he leaned in. "Keep Katie safe for me."

  That
was a request I couldn't refuse. I chose to be part of this insanity; Katie was here by accident. Swallowing, I nodded. Jake relaxed, and closed his eyes.

  I watched Sam as he pressed against the tunnel wall, headed for the entrance. Katie started shivering; I let go of her hand and wrapped my arm around her, pulling her in. She hugged me, hard, and I ignored the flare of still new bruises.

  Each second felt like an eternity. My nerves jumped at every sound, including my own breath. I still didn't know if I could leave Jake, if it came to that. But choosing between him and Katie--that took no brain power to decide. I just kept praying I wouldn't have to make the choice.

  I heard the growl of Sam's SUV before I saw it. And flattened Katie against the wall when it came roaring into the tunnel, headlights on high beams. The inhuman scream just behind us froze my blood.

  I whirled, stepped in front of Katie--and got a full view of my stalker.

  It looked like a punked out seven foot black teddy bear. A deadly, clawed, green-eyed teddy bear.

  Katie's scream got me moving.

  I shoved her toward the SUV. "Run!" Ignoring Jake's protests, I hauled him with me to Sam, who met us, taking Jake from me.

  "Drive," he said, his low voice absolutely calm.

  I sprinted to the driver's side, my ankle complaining with every step, and swung into the seat. Taking only long enough to gauge space, I slammed the car into reverse and turned in a half circle, braking when the driver's side faced Sam.

  I twisted around and grabbed the latch for the back door, popping it open just as Sam and Jake reached the SUV. Katie scrambled in first, and I pulled her up front, shoving the gear back into drive. Sam practically threw Jake in the back and climbed in after him. "GO!"

  I jammed my foot on the gas, my heart jumping when I heard claws scraping across the back of the car. I kept pushing until my foot hit the floor.

  We shot out of the tunnel, and I had enough time to see that we were on an access road that followed the river. Gravel spewed up behind us, and I risked a glance in the rearview mirror. My breath clogged in my throat at the mirror image of the teddy bear monster crouched in the shadow of the tunnel entrance, green eyes furious.

  I responded by going faster, not slowing until the tunnel was finally out of sight. We hit the end of the access road and I jerked to a stop, inches from a storage shed. I let out the breath I didn't know I'd been holding, and lowered my head to the steering wheel, still gripping it so hard my hands shook.

  "Alex." Sam's voice penetrated the panic still swirling through me. He closed one hand over my shoulder. "You can let go now. We're safe, for the moment."