Turning and ducking, she continued the evasive maneuver, diving into a roll. She then used her athletic physique and quickly popped up to one knee, seeing the leaping smaller Nsanga land a few feet away. It had gone for her face but missed.

  As it spun and relocated its prey, Kiani pulled the trigger again and took its head off. Its lifeless body was knocked back from the blow and slid across the stone floor, leaving a trail of gore as it did. She lifted the barrel to shoot another but was startled by the dead one’s twitching limbs. She’d seen it happen once before to a man. That was a freak accident, however, and not a complete decapitation either. The local had fallen from a tree and bashed his head on an exposed tree root, some being as hard as stone. The massive brain trauma caused his body to spasm like a fish out of water.

  A screech turned her around but it was too late to shoot the next incoming creature. Instead, she shoved her shotgun into the baby Nsanga’s mouth and kept it at bay as they fell to the ground together. As it gnawed unsuccessfully on the metal weapon she kicked it away and drew her handgun, shooting it three times in the chest.

  It whimpered once before it fell dead next to its sibling. As she climbed to her feet, she took in the war zone. At least ten Ru’kan lay lifeless—a mixture of hunter and Ka. There were also at least six Nsanga offspring dead too.

  Damnit, she thought, seeing the Delta man’s body. She didn’t know him any better than the others but she considered the soldier—Apollo—a good man. His teammates seemed to think so anyway.

  She reached down for her discarded shotgun but was bowled into by two Ru’kan fighting each other. She recognized the old lady and watched as she slashed and kicked the other with remarkable effectiveness.

  One punch landed solidly on the male Ru’kan’s throat halting his attack long enough for her to kick out and catch him in the face with the heel of her foot. The force of the kick was such that the man’s neck broke backward at a sickening angle, his chin ninety degrees straight up. His body then rocked back and fell as she turned to Kiani. The woman was about to speak but caught herself, instead, inhaling deeply, leaning in closer to Kiani. Fayng closed her eyes and took in the scent.

  What is she doing? Kiani thought.

  “You must get your friends out of here,” Fayng said, opening her eyes and staring into Kiani’s. “You must lead them to safety.”

  “Me?” Kiani asked, once again reaching for her shotgun. She wrenched it free from the dead Nsanga’s jaws but cursed when she saw the barrel, bent. “Why me—”

  Kiani’s question went unheard as Fayng was gone, jumping back into the battle. Shaking her head at the strange encounter, Kiani instead unsheathed her machete and held it in her left hand. She kept her pistol in her right.

  “It’ll have to do,” she said, squeezing each weapon hard.

  A voluminous shriek filled the air and when she turned her face fell. The Nsanga matriarch was charging Logan headlong, bulldozing anything that got in front of it. Ru’kan were crushed underfoot and the other two Americans almost met the same fate. They instinctively rolled out of the way, one to each side.

  Not having any other choice, Kiani did what she thought was right and took off running towards Logan. She’d do what she could and help anyway possible.

  You’re going to get yourself killed for him.

  And yet, she kept moving, never wavering in her rescue attempt. Logan pumped round after round into the oncoming beast but only a few hit their mark. Every bullet made contact with the Nsanga, in truth, but only a couple actually drew blood. None of them slowed the monster either way. Logan was about to get crushed.

  The female quickly snapped out, reaching for him…but bit a passing hunter in half instead.

  Or that’ll happen…

  Kiani continued her mad dash and fired wildly, hoping to hit the thing’s eyes. One lucky shot must have found its mark because it stumbled a little, giving Kiani just enough time to tackle Logan out of the way, sending both of them into an uncontrolled roll. Whatever bumps and bruises they received were an afterthought. They were alive for the moment.

  “Thanks,” Logan said, Kiani laying atop him, blood dripping from various cuts and scrapes. She probably didn’t look any better. He kissed her and sat up, pulling free his combat knife and throwing it over her shoulder. It plunged into the chest of a Ru’kan, stalling its advance long enough for them both to shoot it dead with their respective handguns.

  “No problem,” she replied, reloading her weapon.

  “We need to get out of here,” she said, remembering what Fayng had said.

  “I’d love to,” he said, reaching down and extracting his good friend. He’d gone through many knives over the years and this one was of no significance, but Logan always thought of his Bayonet as a dear comrade, always there in a pinch when needed. Like just now, the blade had saved his life many times.

  “Logan!” a voice shouted from behind.

  He and Kiani turned and found CJ alone, backing away from the Nsanga female. Stopping at the edge of the upside down pyramid, CJ had nowhere to go.

  “Fayng! Baird!” Fitz yelled from the other side of the chaos, pointing towards CJ and the creature. He’d seen it too. The two Ru’kan understood and ran for her, double-timing it. As they moved, they slashed and punched and bobbed and weaved, trying too desperately get to CJ.

  They weren’t going to make it.

  “Bollocks,” Logan said and moved. He was much closer and CJ was running out of time.

  “No!” Kiani yelled after him.

  He didn’t look back. He just kept pumping his arms and willing his feet to keep moving. A youngling went airborne at him but he went into a baseball slide, continued under it through a myriad of blood and other fluids, popping back up in one motion. He was definitely getting the most out of his training now.

  The Nsanga stopped and reared back intent on smearing her against the hard stone surface. Logan was only feet away when instead of its front feet coming down, its head did, snapping forward like a cobra.

  Logan did the only thing he could, he shoved CJ backwards onto the pyramid’s first platform ten feet below. He watched her fall and tumble to safety as he waited for his own death. He raised his arms over his head like it would really make a difference and kneeled, covering his head. Any second now the female would lock its jaws around him and shake him to pieces.

  Death never came.

  What did happen was now at the top of his ‘What the Fuck’ list. He uncovered his head and slowly turned around, finding the forty-foot-long creature standing directly in front of, and over, him…sniffing him.

  Huh? It wasn’t attacking. It was acting more curious than threatening. Like a dog.

  It blew out of its mouth, causing Logan to gag and bring his hand up to his face. He coughed into his fist and did his best to hold back his lunch. If I had any…

  It’s then he noticed that the bandages covering his arm were loose and falling off. The Nsanga’s eyes were on his forearm. The bite marks? Can’t be…

  He unraveled the remaining wrappings and lifted his arm higher, seeing that the puncture wounds were oozing a horrid yellow fluid. Apparently, the little bastards were poisonous after all.

  Not poisonous enough to harm me, though. I think…

  A shout got the creature’s attention as one of the Ka dispatched a younger Nsanga, causing its mother to turn away from Logan and charge after the now fleeing Ru’kan tribesmen.

  Fayng and Baird approached Logan, unsure of what they saw.

  “Your arm,” Fayng said, pointing to it. “You should be dead by now. Even a young Nsanga’s venom can kill five human men let alone one.”

  Shit.

  “It was sniffing him,” Kiani added, likewise perplexed.

  “Maybe the venom confused its targeting,” Fitz suggested, watching for anything else.

  “Targeting?” Fayng asked.

  “They don’t see well,” Fitz explained, “they seem to hunt by scent and sound. I noticed it when it snapped at nothing a few times. Can’t see worth shit down here.”

  Logan raised his eyebrow. It was the same hypothesis as his.

  Smart man…

  “Doesn’t matter,” Logan said, shaking his head. “We need to help CJ.”

  He turned and found her lying unconscious on the level below. It wasn’t a terribly high drop but being pushed the way she was… Regardless, Baird dropped down and picked her up, cradling her like a small child.

  He then simply hopped back up to them but didn’t let go of CJ when he landed. He just nodded and waited for orders like a good soldier. So did Fayng and the others. Thinking, Logan looked around and saw that the action had moved off back into the underground jungle—away from them.

  He also saw the bridge to the other side of the river.

  “What’s over there?” he asked.

  Everyone shrugged.

  “Don’t care,” Zeus said, breathing hard. He was bloodied but alive. As was Ares who was bent over, hands on his knees. “Can’t be worse than what’s on this side.”

  Logan completely agreed.

  “Let’s move,” Logan said. “Look for anything that might be an exit.”

  They all ran for the bridge, most having to hobble. Its construction was rather impressive considering where they were and who built it. It reminded Logan of a classic suspension bridge, gaping a gorge or chasm.

  There was a ladder that climbed twenty feet, held together by tightly wound vines connected to thick tree trunks. Logan waited at the bottom of the ladder while everyone else made their way up. Ares was last and Logan grabbed him and pulled him closer.

  “Have anything on you that can bring this thing down?”

  Ares quickly looked over this side of the bridge and nodded, getting to work while Logan guarded him. Luckily, whatever Ru’kan survived the fight seemed to be more interested in the Nsanga than them.

  “What’s going on?” Zeus called from above. He leaned out and saw Ares. “Oh…”

  “Get everyone across safely,” Logan ordered, “we’ll be right behind you.”

  “Hey, Dave?” Ares asked.

  “Yeah, Pete?” Zeus replied, looking at his friend.

  “Give us a shout when you're there, would you? We’re gonna have to blow this thing soon.”

  Zeus—David Navarro—just nodded and headed off.

  Logan watched for stragglers while Ares did his demolitions thing.

  “How long have you guys known each other?” Logan asked. Their relationship was similar to his and Fitz’s. They kidded one another while in combat like he and Fitz did and then, just now, called each by their first names instead of their Delta callsigns. While Logan had known both men for a month now, they never really got into anything personal.

  “I was assigned to the Olympian team seven years ago,” Ares replied. “As you can see, we’re the only surviving members—which is good.”

  “Why is that good?” Logan asked, appalled.

  “Because,” Ares replied, standing, “the other guys were assholes.”

  Logan couldn’t help but grin. No wonder Ares and Fitz got along so well. Their senses of humor were equally demented.

  “We’re ready,” he said, handing Logan the small remote detonator. It had a simplified trigger mechanism—one green and one red. “Press the green to unlock the detonator, then the red to blow shit up.”

  “Right,” Logan said, gripping the device in his fist. He then quickly ushered Ares up the ladder, “let’s get the hell out of here.”

  20

  Logan hurriedly climbed the ladder, mentally urging Ares to move faster. While the area was clear of all living threats for the moment, he wasn’t about to take any chances. Better nothing sees where they went if at all possible.

  They both made it to the ladder’s landing without incident, but that’s where it ended. A small three-man group of Ru’kan hunters ambled out of the subterranean jungle, looking bloodied and beaten.

  Then, they spotted Logan staring right back at them.

  “Just beautiful…” he whispered to himself as the tribesmen picked up their pace, heading his way.

  He turned and found Ares already halfway across the expanse, running like a madman. Musta’ seen ‘em. The bridge itself was maybe sixty feet in length, its end clouded slightly in a fine mist. If he could haul ass, Logan was pretty sure he could still make it to the other side and have time to blow the bridge’s supports.

  So he did, running as fast as his fatigued body would let him. He kept his eyes forward, looking for any sign that the others had made it across. With the relatively low light, Logan could only see Ares’ back at the moment.

  Could really use those comms about now, he thought, still unsure why they went out. As far as he could tell, there might be some interference coming from above. He glanced up as he ran and saw the sparkling crystal-laden ceiling. It must be them.

  A grunting sound erupted from behind him, getting his attention. He slid to a stop and turned, finding one of the healthier looking Ru’kan reach the landing.

  Shit.

  Logan was running out of options. He stood still and readied his assault rifle. Quickly glancing back, he was relieved to see Ares disappear down the other ladder but there was still no signal from the rest of the team.

  And for good reason.

  A familiar shriek announced the arrival of the Nsanga female as she came barreling through the trees on the opposite side of the river. She must have crossed over back in the jungle while fighting and or evading the Ru’kan. He again glanced behind him and saw the three hunters.

  That’s why they came back. They must have lost the beast in the water. The thought spurred another one. Can’t they swim? He looked down at the remote in his left hand. It was pinned between his palm and the rifle.

  He grumbled as he thought of his next move. It was going to hurt and it was going to be really cold. He backed away as the hunters stepped towards him. The suspension bridge was narrow enough that they had to fall into a single-file line.

  Good. He’d rather only one of them see what he was about to do. But before he could, they needed to get closer.

  Thinking hard, Logan considered ditching the plan altogether and just turning and running like hell but he’d seen the speed at which they could attack. He’d never make it. This was his only chance.

  Shouts from behind told Logan that the rest of his team was on the move, fleeing the area from the Nsanga. From the angry throaty protest from the creature, it was apparently in pursuit of them too.

  The hunter in front of him growled and continued forward almost a third of the way across now. Logan was just past the halfway mark when one of them he couldn’t see leapt into the air, startling him. It was perfectly executed and well-timed, catching Logan off guard.

  Smart buggers.

  As it crested its high arc, Logan made his final decision and lifted the clear lid above the detonator’s triggers. He quickly depressed the green button, unlocking the red one. He prayed his friends would make it and without a moment to lose pushed down on the second trigger.

  The reaction was instantaneous as Ares’ charges decimated one side of the heavy bridge’s support beams. It was a surreal moment when the falling Ru’kan kept falling, matching Logan’s downward plunge. The quick-moving current caught Logan and swept him away deeper into the land of the unknown—deeper into the realm of the enemy.

  Triple splashes announced the arrival of the three hunters too, as did their panic-filled cries. Logan did his best to watch as they desperately clawed at the water, their bodies igniting in a pulsating light show.

  Nope…can’t swim.

  Logan was a very good swimmer but the cold and speed of the current made it difficult for him to gain any control of his tumbling body. All he could do was keep his head above the water as he entered a pitch black tunnel. The last sound he heard other than the flowing water was that of his team’s screams echoing off the walls around him.

  Turning around, Logan faced forward trying to see anything he could. He reached up to his helmet in an attempt to fold down his night vision device but found only his soaked hair instead. It was gone. He hadn’t even realized he’d lost it.

  Going native, I guess.

  Logan was startled as the river dipped and sped up, pushing him under for a bit. He held his breath and kept his hands out to the sides, feeling for the walls.

  He should’ve had them out in front of him instead…

  He collided headfirst with an outcrop of low-hanging rocks lining the underground river’s ceiling.

  * * *

  “Run, damnit, run!” Ares shouted from behind. He’d just dismounted the ladder, sliding down the bottom half like you see people do in the movies. Now, he was hauling ass, running full boar towards the rest of the group.

  Kiani was the last one to enter the tunnel ahead of him. She stopped and reached out for him just as the Nsanga lunged forward, jaws agape. Her fingers found his and she yanked back, falling as he did. She and the American slid for a couple of feet on the moist ground and stopped, breathing hard.

  Then, something bumped her foot.

  She squirmed out from underneath Ares and looked back towards the main chamber as the tip of the creature’s dragon-like tongue grazed the sole of her boot.

  Kiani shouted in fright and crab-walked backwards getting the same reaction out of Ares. He crawled after her and stopped, falling on his face. As she caught her breath, she noticed someone was missing.

  “Where’s Logan?”

  On his hands and knees, Ares shook his head, trying to catch his breath. “That lunatic blew the bridge with him on it. We had company coming up behind us. I thought he was right behind me until the damned thing gave way.”

  He stood and helped Kiani up who had a look of pain and loss slathered across her face. Logan may have very well just sacrificed himself to save the rest of them. A soldier to the end.

  “We’ll find him. Don’t you worry.”

  She turned to Fitz. “What makes you think that?”