Fireteam Delta by J. Halpin (popular novels .TXT) 📗

“Think it’ll find its way back to the city?” Cortez asked.

“Maybe. It knows the road,” Summers answered. As they hopped into the Humvee, he noticed Tank’s head perk up. It fell in behind them, just as it usually did.

“Or maybe not.”

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They took the long route around the city. Tank had followed them the entire way, stopping for a few minutes, only to catch up again as they circumvented the many obstacles in their nonexistent path. They’d avoided roads for a solid three days before they decided to risk heading back to the main highway.

And the first thing they saw were a group of elves in the distance—elves wearing guard uniforms.

“Shit,” Nowak muttered.

The group took one look at their Humvee and legged it in the other direction.

“We can probably run them down,” Summers ventured.

“No, it’s not like they’d know us from the Humvee. More likely, we just scared them.”

“We heading back off the road, then?” Cortez suggested.

“Probably for the best. I don’t want to deal with the locals any more than I have to. Not until we’re at least off the main road.” Nowak ducked back into the Humvee and Summers shifted the wheel.

It was going to be a bumpy ride.

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“I can’t feel my ass,” Logan said, rubbing at his backside.

The trip had not been a pleasant one. Unlike the forest they’d started in, the ground here was uneven, with more rock than actual ground. The already worn shocks of the Humvee weren’t doing much to help, either.

“We won’t have to deal with it long,” Nowak replied. He had a map in front of him, one adorned with something like gold leaf. While it was clearly more professional than the crude map they’d found in the abandoned village, it still left them wanting for things like landmarks. “There’s a small trade route that heads to the coast up ahead. We’re going to have to cross to it eventually. Looks like it’s the only path through the mountains.”

“That far enough from the city?” Summers looked at the map.

“Should be. If it’s not, I doubt they’ll be coming in any force.”

Summers glanced over at Cortez, who was taking two suitcases out of the back of the Humvee. She was smiling. “Sarge, what’s Cortez doing?”

“We used all the claymores, so I told her to get creative.”

“Uh huh. And what’s in those suitcases?”

“C-4.”

“We have C-4?”

“A couple blocks of it. Demolition charges, I think.”

“And you don’t see any problems with this?” Summers watched as Cortez began running a wire toward the mouth of the cave.

“Worked pretty well the first time. Besides, she said she’d hook it up to a detonator, so we don’t have to worry about the cow or a squirrel tripping it by accident.”

“Uh huh.” Summers knew better than to complain at this point. “Mind if I take a walk?”

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Summers wandered around the forest outside. The rain didn’t bother him. If anything, it was kind of a relief to not be able to smell everything around him for once. He still wasn’t used to the sensation, and it only seemed to be getting worse.

As he walked, Summers saw something like a small creature in the distance. It looked like some sort of lizard walking on its hind legs. It quickly scurried off at the sight of him.

“Huh.”

Tank was grazing idly nearby, digging at the ground beneath it, looking for something to chew. The damn thing had been able to keep up with them, despite everything. Still, it wasn’t like he was bothering anyone, so they just let him be. They figured the Humvee would get them to the coast on the gas they had left, but just in case they were wrong, it was nice to have Tank as a backup.

He stayed like that a while, just trying to get his thoughts straight. He’d known coming into this that getting home was going to be a longshot. They weren’t even technically out of Alaska yet, and he wondered how many more of them would die before the end of this.

Then the rustling of leaves and the snap of branches caught his attention. Something was coming their way. Tank must have heard it, too. The cow’s head instantly snapped up—before a set of enormous jaws closed around it.

Summers stifled the scream that was building in his throat. Tank, or what was left of him, let out a yelp before the creature holding it slammed its head into a nearby cliff, crushing the cow’s skull.

Summers ducked behind the trunk of a tree. The creature itself was massive. It stood maybe thirty-five feet tall, with a mouth that seemed to reach far into what should be its neck. It was as if someone had tried to cross an alligator with a t-rex. It raised its head and let Tank’s remains slide back into its throat.

Summers stood absolutely still, hoping he’d be overlooked. Then he heard one heavy footstep come toward him. Then another.

He didn’t wait for the third. Summers tossed a grenade and ran.

The explosion resounded behind him. Summers had hoped that it would confuse the creature long enough for him to get away. The roar of pain that erupted moments later was probably an indication he’d just pissed it off.

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“What the fuck happened to you?” Nowak looked at Summers, concerned.

The rest of the group stopped what they were doing, the cave silent as Summers fought to catch his breath.

“Fucking. Big. Monster.”

Chapter 13: Pack Tactics

“You lost Tank?” Cortez actually looked a little sad at the news of the cow’s very sudden, very violent death.

“Weren’t you listening? The fucking thing nearly got me. Screw the cow.”

Cortez shot him an annoyed look.

Summers sat on his ass, trying to catch his breath while the others were on