The Soul Eaters (The Thin Hex Line Book 1) by Gwyndolyn Russell (100 best novels of all time .txt) 📗

Mjolnir had rescued Ruby for the moment. He tackled the beast off him and used the rifle on its back to swing it around and toss it into a tree.

That left Reaper still struggling against the largest of them. Holding onto that machete as tight as he could, he risked his face being clawed to jab it under the beast's arm. Its claws dug in, slicing right down from the side of his head to his chin. He bit back the pain and twisted the machete. It cried out. Pulled away.

Reaper hissed, still holding the blade up. He laid there and waited. The pain was coming through. He could barely move his mouth.

"Go! Go!" A familiar voice shouted.

One of the beasts roared. Fired its weapon. A tree exploded into a hail of splinters. Toppled into the field, narrowly missing a few soldiers.

Ruby shrieked out in pain, writhing on the ground. Sparrow screamed.

Reaper couldn't see what was going on. All he saw was the black sky above splattered with the beautiful colors of the cosmos.

Move! He told himself.

He twisted his aching body. Propped himself onto an elbow. That beast was coming back for him. Black blood pouring out from under its arm. It locked its jaws around his ankle. He kicked it in the nose. The ear. It dragged him with a snarl.

"Get off him!" Someone shouted.

Another beast shrieked just out of his sight. The gunfire quieted. At least until the shouting man opened up on the creature dragging Reaper away.

Its head and body flayed open with blood spraying out. Its jaws released. It wanted to run away now, but collapsed under its own weight right over Reaper's leg.

"Captain, hang in there."

He looked up to see who was grabbing his shoulder.

"J-Jack?" He grumbled. His vision blurred. He could see only out of one eye. The pain made it hard to move. The burning fire in his lungs made him wheeze.

Jackal pulled on him, then called for help. Yaaranam pushed the beast off his leg, letting Jackal drag him across the ground and back to the camp.

Plenty of the soldiers were crying, begging for help.

Reaper was sat down at the end of a crate. The first to be seen by one of the doctor's. Dazed and confused, he was conscious.

"What happened?" Jackal asked, holding Reaper's shoulder.

He cringed, touching the side of his flayed head.

"They jumped us." He hissed. "Fuckers must have been waiting."

"Waiting? Why would they wait for you?" Jackal looked out to watch bodies get carried in. He made a quick count of those limp frames. Five men lost. Seven injured, including Reaper and Ruby.

"Why were y'all even out there?"

Reaper held his chin up. The nurse patted his head with a wet cloth to clean away the blood.

"One of the kids ran off. We went to find him." He took a sharp breath. Picked up the bottle of water that had been set down next to him and drank. "Those were the same animals we ran into on our way to find the kid. They got scared off, but must have come back to finish us off. That big one….I'm not sure why, but he wanted me."

Mjolnir stepped up with a big grin on his face.

"Captain, that was some good fighting out there!" He said, "We really showed them!"

"They're all dead, right?" Reaper smiled briefly before wincing.

"Every single one of them. Thanks to Jackal and his team showing up when they did. Couldn't have done it without you." He patted Jackal on the back, nearly knocking him over.

"That thing really fucked you up, Cap." Jackal frowned. "Look like you just went through a meat shredder."

"At least I still look better than you," he grinned.

Jackal laughed.

"Mjolnir," Reaper said, "could we increase the guards and fire power around the perimeter? Lock the ship down and keep all the civilians inside. I don't want anyone coming outside. Not at night."

"Before you do that, let me pull a truck out." Jackal said. He hurried into the cargo bay without a further word.

Reaper called for him, but he was ignored.

"Son of a bitch. Ow." He winced at the nurse. "He can't be thinking about going back out."

"I'm sure he has a plan, Captain. Rest up, I'll take care of the perimeter." Mjolnir grinned and stepped away.

Reaper had been given pain killers he couldn't wait to kick in. One of the medical drones hovered overhead. It scanned over the injuries, then stitched them up with silk like glue. Bandages were taped down and he was free to go.

Just in time, too. Jackal had one of the all-terrain trucks out at the edge of camp. He was packing it up with a bunch of supplies. Ropes, hooks, mechanical tools, a few MREs, and lord knew what else. Reaper hurried over to see what he was planning.

"Where are you going?" He asked, grabbing the open back door.

Jackal stepped back from the seat and shrugged.

"Back out into the jungle. Not sure from there."

"Why? For more food?"

"All we really found was nuts and berries. Found something Yaaranam carried in. Needs to be tested before its cooked though."

"Doesn't answer my question." Reaper crossed his arms. His brow narrowed.

Jackal sucked on his cheeks, his eyes dropping down and away.

"I have an updated cartographer." He said, picking the device up from the front seat. "The radio works. I have supplies for just about any situation. Few cans of ammo, a pocket flamethrowe--"

"Why are you going back out alone?" Reaper held up a hand. He put on that Captain's voice which made Jackal visibly cringe. "I know when you're trying to hide something, Liam."

Another cringe. He looked like a child being scolded by his father.

"Tell me the truth."

"Okay. Okay." Jackal put his hands up. "I think Fenris needs help." He quickly dug into one of his pouches. He held out the piece of bloodstained fur.

"See? It's his. I know it is. There's a pond a few miles that way. I think he set up a