Chapter Sixty-Four--The Time For Games Is Over

Chapter Sixty-Four--The Time For Games Is Over
I hyperventilated as a nondescript seen-better-days sedan pulled in beside the Jeep, choking and coughing putrid exhaust that burned my nose.

Clara stepped from the vehicle, looking worse for wear. Her short brown hair stuck up in chaotic disarray, eyes bloodshot, pale as a sheet of paper.

Clara worried her hands. “Where’s the bitch?”

“Back of the Jeep,” said Mr. Quiet.

“Get her out here. I want to see her.”

Hero Boy about jumped for joy, before opening the back and hauling a bound Carmen—mouth tapped and bleeding from several wounds—and dropping her on the ground.

“Can I finally kill her?”

Mr. Quiet stubbed out his cigarette. “Hey, hotshot, shut it.”

“Can I shoot her again. In the leg? I love it when she screams.”

My stomach churned.

“Sure, why not,” Clara muttered.

Not going to happen. Not if I had anything to say about it. I crept around the tree to the opposite side. A hiss sounded from a tree to my left.

“What's that?” Hero Boy snapped.

I stepped around the tree. “Hey, boys. Whatcha doing? Oh.” My hand fluttered around my neck. My eyes widened. “What happened to her?”

Clara’s narrowed gaze caught me. She stared hard at my face. “What are you doing here?”
            “Was going for a hike. Lost my way a while back, somewhere around the river.” I looked down at my feet. “I took off my shoes, and sunned myself, then wandered away from my stuff. Been lost for hours. I heard voices, and was hoping…” I scanned Carmen, who jerked her head, clearly wanting me to run. I faked a hard swallow. “For some help. But clearly you’re busy.”

“Wow, since the last time I saw you, lying has well landed into your repertoire,” Clara said.

I straightened from my easy manner. The innocent fear left my face.

“Ahh, so you remember me,” I said. “Aren’t you the guys that hit me with your boat?”

“Yeah,” Hero Boy babbled. “I remember you now. Damn shame you were stupid enough to come all the way out here, with no witnesses.”

“Don’t be too sure about that.” Mr. Quiet looked from Clara to me. “Well boys, looks to me, like we’ve got a live one.”

Hero boy narrowed his eyes, then gasped. “Fuck! The eyes!”

Clara didn’t even flinch. She stared at me as if she’d seen a ghost.

“What you talking about?” Gruff Man said.

Hero Boy backed me to a tree, to lewd lust on his face promised all kinds of atrocities he’s never participate in. I’d separate himself from his favorite member with my own claws before he’d even tried.

“You shouldn’t have come here, Katrina,” Clara whispered.

I startled when Hero Boy made a grab for me. An insane snarl rent the air as I tossed the kid away from me, headfirst into the Jeep.

“Research, huh?” I said sweetly. “So Clara, you did recognize me on the boat.”

“Clara, what the fuck is she talking about?” Gruff Man snapped, pointing a gun at Carmen’s head.

Everyone froze. My clan included.

“She’s my daughter.”

“You got a cat for a daughter? You mate with one of those or something?”

I inched for Carmen. “Oh, I was perfectly human the last time you saw me.”

“What happened to you, Katrina? Did they steal you, rape you? We can kill them, you know. All of them. I can save you.”

I mentally stumbled, then tossed my head back and laughed. “Save me, mom? Really?” Those stupid tears burned in my eyes again, making me real schizo right then. “Where the fuck were you when dad smeared his brains all over the bathroom mirror. Where were you when I had to answer all of those questions to the cops, to find you without a trace? What about when your mother died, and we didn’t even get a phone call? Where the fuck were you then?”

“I had a job to do!” Her cheeks reddened. “I was on a hunting trip looking for rogue animals when we found of bunch of those animal shifter things slaughtering humans for the amusement of it.” Her fingernails dug into the opposite hands. “Saw some of those cats turn human as they died. Those damned cats kill people, baby.”

“You don’t know anything about them!” I screamed. “Those dicks that created the hunts are long gone. The people you’re hunting now aren’t the same, but the children of the last pack, and wanderers who’ve done nothing wrong.”

“They’re unnatural!” Gruff Man swung his gun and pointed it at me. Roman crawled on his belly from behind the Jeep. I sidestepped, away from Carmen, toward Clara. The gunman tracked me.

“Who did this to you?” Clara shrieked again. “I’ll rip out his throat myself. I gave up everything to protect people from these things, protect you. I’ve tracked those assholes all over the country. That’s why I left in the night without a word. Your father wouldn’t have believed me. But my eyes got opened that day. And once that happens, you can’t close them again. They’re everywhere! In every forest, mountain area—everywhere. They run in packs, and kill without mercy. They need to be exterminated.” Mr. Quiet stood, slung his arm around Clara’s shoulders. She leaned into him. Lovers, obviously. I squinted. I vaguely remembered him as one of my dad’s hunting buddies. Did he remember me?

Roman slipped his hands under Carmen’s shoulders, and soundlessly dragged her behind the vehicles. No doubt to safety.

“What about me, mom? Do I need to be exterminated now? Is that it?”