Frostbitten
Page 80
But again he dashed onto the road in front of the car, then made no effort to stop it, just disappeared into the forest. Was he trying to use the traffic to slow me down? If so, it wasn't working. The car was a compact, grinding along, spitting up snow, moving at the pace of a fast walk. I easily crossed in front of it, and the driver didn't even seem to see me, too intent on staring at the road right in front of him, struggling to get through the snow.
Eddie continued running into the woods. And as could be predicted by this point, he didn't stay there, instead circling wide and heading back for that road. I was sorely tempted to just stand in the middle of it and wait for him.
It was then that I finally figured out what he was doing. I had only a split second to realize it before we heard another vehicle-a pickup truck this time-and, as I expected, Eddie looped around, coming out right behind the passing truck.
He'd been crisscrossing the road waiting for the right vehicle, pulling a version of his brother's "hop on the train" trick. Now, admittedly, over the last few days my brain hadn't been running on all cylinders, courtesy of Eddie's rapist thug brother, but I wasn't completely brain dead yet. I'd realized his ruse just in time, and when he tore out behind that passing truck, he didn't find an open pickup bed in his path. He found a werewolf who was a little tired of letting her prey escape.
He tried to race around me. I grabbed him and hauled him into the forest. We fought. Spurred on by the boost of actually catching him-and the potential humiliation of losing him-I won. I snapped his neck. A short fight and a quick death, neither worth much comment. I dragged his body a little deeper, into the woods covered him in brush, made a note of the spot to bury him later, then ran back to find Clay and Tesler.
ONCE I WAS back in the forest, locating Clay was easy-just follow the sounds of battle. As I drew closer, I realized it was more a struggle than a battle-one struggling to start a fight and the other struggling to avoid it. First came the thump of a blow. Then a grunt. Then a scuffle and a curse. Then the pounding of running footsteps. Another thump, grunt, scuffle, curse.
Sure enough, I found Clay hot on Tesler's heels. He'd catch up enough to punch him, maybe grab a fold of his shirt, but Tesler always scrambled free and started running again. Or he did, until he found me standing in his path.
Clay pulled up short behind him and grinned a greeting.
"Looking for a little more action, darling?"
"Doesn't seem like you're getting any. What's the matter, Travis? I thought you were just itching for this. Eddie's plan worked. Clay's right there. Go ahead. Have some fun. Or did you forget your camera?"
"Was that the plan?" Clay said. "Let me guess. Lure me in. Carve me up. Take photos. Pass them around to prove what badass motherfuckers you are." He shook his head. "Mutts. Not an original idea in their thick skulls. But sure, we can do that, Travis. I'll even send Elena back to get your camera. Just step on over here and we'll get started."
Tester's gaze shot to the side, checking and rejecting escape routes. Then he looked over my head.
"Your brother isn't coming," I said.
"Well, you sure as hell didn't kill him," Travis said. "He'd have left a mark, and I don't see any, except that broken finger from earlier."
"They broke your finger?" Clay said.
"Yes, while you were outside preparing your dramatic entrance."
"Shit. Sorry, darling. You want to take one of his?"
"Your brother is dead," I said. "The only marks he left were bruises, and I've got enough of those that a few more don't matter."
He eyed me, as if he didn't quite believe this. Too bad. If he thought Eddie was coming to his rescue, all the better for us when he found out otherwise.
"So you're going to team up against me?" he said finally. "That's not fair."
"No? All right, then. Choose your opponent."
He looked from Clay to me, and sneered. "You think I'm falling for that? If I even come close to taking out one of you, the other will jump in."
"And that's not fair. Because you're all about fair, aren't you, Travis? Pump yourself full of steroids to get that extra advantage. Just as cowardly as using a gun, which I'm sure you'd do, too, if you'd thought to grab one."
"I've never used a gun-"
"And you've never had backup either, have you? When you fought me, your little brother didn't jump in and save your ass. I was hallucinating."
He glowered. "That was different. You were our captive. We had a plan."
"And right now, you're our captive." I smiled. "And guess what? We have a plan, too. It's almost a carbon copy of yours. Only in ours, you're the one who dies and gets his picture taken, shoring up our reputations. Now pick your poison."
He looked from me to Clay and back again. I was the obvious choice-smaller, less experienced and already battered from earlier. But he kept looking, kept thinking.
"I choose… "
Another slow look from me to Clay, then he wheeled, snapping off the nearest branch and lunging at Clay. I leapt forward. Clay leapt back. Neither of us was fast enough. Tesler plunged the jagged stick into Clay's chest. Then he ran.
I raced over to Clay as he staggered back.
"Go after him," he said, as I dropped in front of him.
"No."
"Elena."
"No!" I snarled the word. That shut him up. The branch still protruded from his chest. It wasn't as big as I thought, less than an inch diameter. If anything, though, that made it worse-thinner and sharper, like an arrow. As I fumbled with his jacket, he reached up to pull the branch out.
"Don't," I said.
"Darling, it's not-"
"Don't!"
"I'm fine. Go after him. This is what he wanted."
"Then I guess it's what he's going to get."
My voice quavered as badly as my hands now. I'd been so afraid of being raped by Tesler. Did I think that was the worst he could do to me? No. There was something far worse, and I'd been such a fool, working myself up over that, letting him scare me, letting fear slow me down, when I could have killed him, and I wouldn't be here now, shaking so bad I couldn't get Clay's jacket undone.
Eddie continued running into the woods. And as could be predicted by this point, he didn't stay there, instead circling wide and heading back for that road. I was sorely tempted to just stand in the middle of it and wait for him.
It was then that I finally figured out what he was doing. I had only a split second to realize it before we heard another vehicle-a pickup truck this time-and, as I expected, Eddie looped around, coming out right behind the passing truck.
He'd been crisscrossing the road waiting for the right vehicle, pulling a version of his brother's "hop on the train" trick. Now, admittedly, over the last few days my brain hadn't been running on all cylinders, courtesy of Eddie's rapist thug brother, but I wasn't completely brain dead yet. I'd realized his ruse just in time, and when he tore out behind that passing truck, he didn't find an open pickup bed in his path. He found a werewolf who was a little tired of letting her prey escape.
He tried to race around me. I grabbed him and hauled him into the forest. We fought. Spurred on by the boost of actually catching him-and the potential humiliation of losing him-I won. I snapped his neck. A short fight and a quick death, neither worth much comment. I dragged his body a little deeper, into the woods covered him in brush, made a note of the spot to bury him later, then ran back to find Clay and Tesler.
ONCE I WAS back in the forest, locating Clay was easy-just follow the sounds of battle. As I drew closer, I realized it was more a struggle than a battle-one struggling to start a fight and the other struggling to avoid it. First came the thump of a blow. Then a grunt. Then a scuffle and a curse. Then the pounding of running footsteps. Another thump, grunt, scuffle, curse.
Sure enough, I found Clay hot on Tesler's heels. He'd catch up enough to punch him, maybe grab a fold of his shirt, but Tesler always scrambled free and started running again. Or he did, until he found me standing in his path.
Clay pulled up short behind him and grinned a greeting.
"Looking for a little more action, darling?"
"Doesn't seem like you're getting any. What's the matter, Travis? I thought you were just itching for this. Eddie's plan worked. Clay's right there. Go ahead. Have some fun. Or did you forget your camera?"
"Was that the plan?" Clay said. "Let me guess. Lure me in. Carve me up. Take photos. Pass them around to prove what badass motherfuckers you are." He shook his head. "Mutts. Not an original idea in their thick skulls. But sure, we can do that, Travis. I'll even send Elena back to get your camera. Just step on over here and we'll get started."
Tester's gaze shot to the side, checking and rejecting escape routes. Then he looked over my head.
"Your brother isn't coming," I said.
"Well, you sure as hell didn't kill him," Travis said. "He'd have left a mark, and I don't see any, except that broken finger from earlier."
"They broke your finger?" Clay said.
"Yes, while you were outside preparing your dramatic entrance."
"Shit. Sorry, darling. You want to take one of his?"
"Your brother is dead," I said. "The only marks he left were bruises, and I've got enough of those that a few more don't matter."
He eyed me, as if he didn't quite believe this. Too bad. If he thought Eddie was coming to his rescue, all the better for us when he found out otherwise.
"So you're going to team up against me?" he said finally. "That's not fair."
"No? All right, then. Choose your opponent."
He looked from Clay to me, and sneered. "You think I'm falling for that? If I even come close to taking out one of you, the other will jump in."
"And that's not fair. Because you're all about fair, aren't you, Travis? Pump yourself full of steroids to get that extra advantage. Just as cowardly as using a gun, which I'm sure you'd do, too, if you'd thought to grab one."
"I've never used a gun-"
"And you've never had backup either, have you? When you fought me, your little brother didn't jump in and save your ass. I was hallucinating."
He glowered. "That was different. You were our captive. We had a plan."
"And right now, you're our captive." I smiled. "And guess what? We have a plan, too. It's almost a carbon copy of yours. Only in ours, you're the one who dies and gets his picture taken, shoring up our reputations. Now pick your poison."
He looked from me to Clay and back again. I was the obvious choice-smaller, less experienced and already battered from earlier. But he kept looking, kept thinking.
"I choose… "
Another slow look from me to Clay, then he wheeled, snapping off the nearest branch and lunging at Clay. I leapt forward. Clay leapt back. Neither of us was fast enough. Tesler plunged the jagged stick into Clay's chest. Then he ran.
I raced over to Clay as he staggered back.
"Go after him," he said, as I dropped in front of him.
"No."
"Elena."
"No!" I snarled the word. That shut him up. The branch still protruded from his chest. It wasn't as big as I thought, less than an inch diameter. If anything, though, that made it worse-thinner and sharper, like an arrow. As I fumbled with his jacket, he reached up to pull the branch out.
"Don't," I said.
"Darling, it's not-"
"Don't!"
"I'm fine. Go after him. This is what he wanted."
"Then I guess it's what he's going to get."
My voice quavered as badly as my hands now. I'd been so afraid of being raped by Tesler. Did I think that was the worst he could do to me? No. There was something far worse, and I'd been such a fool, working myself up over that, letting him scare me, letting fear slow me down, when I could have killed him, and I wouldn't be here now, shaking so bad I couldn't get Clay's jacket undone.
