Page 91 of Marc
One of the guards rushed toward us. “Agricultural vehicle was attacked on the way back to the gate. Hell, the monsters attacked it right at the front gates.” The guard looked shaken.
“Carbines,” I yelled.
With a nod, he ducked back into the gatehouse. Then he tossed weapons at us. I grabbed a carbine and passed it to Kai. Then I grabbed one for myself, checked the charge, and sprinted out of the gate with Jameson.
Instantly, I saw one of the ag vehicles overturned, its side dented in like something had hit it.
That something was what a group of guards were firing on. The large monster looked vaguely like a triceratops, with heavy armor plating over its stocky body.
On the wall, someone shifted the large spotlights, aiming it at the monster.
Two people in ag uniforms ran toward us, one stumbling and the other limping. They were battered and bleeding.
“Please, help,” the man said. “It’s got Amaia.”
Every muscle in my body stiffened. My gaze shot back to the car.
“A monster ripped the roof off the car like it was paper,” the woman said shakily. “It grabbed Amaia.”
My muscles flexed, then I was running.
“Zeke!” Jameson shouted. “Dammit. The rest of you get that big monster down.”
I scanned beyond the ruined car, into the grassy field. Then I saw it. Just beyond the lights of the spotlight, I saw the gleam of moonlight-pale hair.
She was wrestling with a dark shadow.
Adrenaline hit my system like I’d taken a stimulant. I leaped over the wrecked car, whipping my carbine up.
“Amaia!” Kai shouted from behind me.
I saw her struggling with a creature. It was thin and wiry, but all muscle covered in mottled gray skin. It had large eyes that blinked rapidly.
She was kicking it, blood dripping down the side of her face and soaking into her white hair.
Dammit, they were moving too much. I couldn’t risk shooting at the monster in case I hit Amaia.
I fired wide.
The monster didn’t let her go. I ran faster.
I saw the grass around the pair growing higher than the rest of the field. Fuck, it was winding around the monster’s legs.
Amaia had more of her mother’s abilities than most people knew.
I knew. I’d seen her use them to save us when we’d been kidnapped as kids.
I fired near the monster again, the laser stream hitting the dirt.Fuck this. I tossed the carbine and yanked out the knife I always carried.
I ran, jumped into the air, then slammed into the monster.
All three of us crashed to the ground. I rammed the knife into the monster’s rib cage. It hissed and snarled. I stabbed it again.
It swiped out with its claws, but I rolled off. Amaia scuttled backward.
The creature whirled, crouching like a gargoyle. I lifted my knife.
Then it looked past us to where the rest of Hunter Squad, plus Devlin and Tane, were running in our direction.
