Slayers (Jake Hawkins Book 1) (32 page)

It took less than two minutes to make it back to the boat. Jake stumbled on shaky legs, hoping for some kind of miracle. He wanted Wolfe to come sprinting from the trees, along with Link, and then they could all pile into the boat and fly back to Australia like nothing had ever happened in the first place. But that was not what he saw.

He saw an empty boat. He saw empty land in front of him.

There was no sign of Crank, or the other men. There was nothing but silence. The boat rocked idly in its position. Water lapped at the hull.

Everyone was gone.

“
This isn
’
t good,
”
Jake muttered.

He couldn
’
t have been out of sight for more than five minutes.

They wouldn
’
t have gone in without me,
Jake thought. He was sure of that. Something had happened, and he didn
’
t know what. His chest grew tighter. The quiet was unsettling. Around the other men, he felt safe. Now, he was alone in the rainforest, with a clearing to head into and no knowledge of what was lying in wait. The panic intensified.

He remained by the boat for a while. Hoping that there had been some kind of mistake. The trees ahead rustled softly, and back from where he had come the river gurgled and flowed, and those were the only sounds. No calls of wildlife. It was too quiet.

Eventually, he decided that waiting around in the open wasn
’
t the best idea. He checked his pistol was loaded and headed up into the undergrowth.

The slope was almost unclimbable. With each step he took, a chunk of loose dirt broke off from the earth and scattered down past his feet. He lost his footing multiple times, and had to catch onto a tree to find purchase on the ground.

The terrain was the least of his problems. He began to notice deep indents in the dirt, like a large group of people had moved upward. There were claw marks gouged intermittently into the trunks he was passing. He saw at least ten before he lost count.

The ground petered out as he reached the top of the slope, but the rainforest was as suffocating as ever. Claustrophobia kicked in. He was boxed in on all sides. He slipped his machete from its holster on his back and began to force his way through the jungle.

Vines, plants, branches: they all limited visibility to a couple of metres. He pushed through a mass of entangled vines.

And came face-to-face with a lone slayer.

They almost collided. It had been coming from the opposite direction. The slayer
’
s eyes went wide and it opened its mouth to roar a warning to anyone in the immediate vicinity. Jake was faster. He brought his pistol up and pumped the trigger once. The shot passed straight through its open mouth. Its legs gave out from underneath as it died. He lunged forward and caught the body with two hands. Gently lowered it to the forest floor. He moved on, his heart beating a million miles an hour.

As soon as he felt like he had covered half the distance, he dropped to his knees and began a slow, silent crawl towards his destination. The trees ended up ahead. He shuffled right to the edge, buried down into the bushes and observed the clearing.

It was an enormous expanse of dirt and shrubs, perfectly circular, but it appeared to be natural. There was a huge palm tree in the centre. Its leaves cast everything underneath into shadow. Crank, Sam, Thorn and Felix were sprawled across the clearing floor. Their hands were bound in front of them and their legs were tied together. They were all fastened to one another, forming a chain of prisoners. Resting on the floor a few metres away, silent and brooding, was a man Jake felt like he hadn
’
t seen in years.

Wolfe.

He struggled to suppress a gasp. All this time, an uneasy feeling had plagued him, that Wolfe was dead, that Archfiend was merely baiting them. Now, there was a flicker of hope. Wolfe looked skinnier than usual. Fatigue was wearing him down. There were huge bags under his eyes and a pained expression on his face.

Archfiend himself was standing in front of the five men, pacing back and forth. In the daylight, he was terrifying. He looked far more human than a slayer. His pale white muscles shone in the sun. There wasn
’
t a square centimetre of fat anywhere on his body. He was an unnaturally constructed creation, a raw powerhouse. And his eyes were piercing. There was something human in them. Some kind of intelligence.

Three clusters of slayers prowled around the clearing: a group of three were over by the tree, stalking around in the shade, a group of five were standing motionless on the other side, watching the clearing intently, and a pair were moving around the perimeter, peering into the rainforest. The pair were only a few paces to his left. They would be on him any minute now.

Jake realised what had happened. Archfiend and his posse of slayers had been lying in wait as their boat had arrived. When he had foolishly run off to pursue the slayer, Archfiend had ambushed Felix, Sam and Thorn, taking them prisoner. Crank had clearly been unable to put up a fight.

Now, Archfiend was livid.

“
Where
’
s the kid?!
”
he spat at the men.
“
And why did he run off?
”

No-one answered. Jake put it together in his head. The slayer he had spotted hadn
’
t been a distraction. There had been no deliberate attempt to lure him away from the rest of the group. He had merely come across a stupid slayer. And now he was the only thing stopping Archfiend from killing the entire team.

“
No matter,
”
Archfiend continued.
“
We
’
ll find him, and we
’
ll kill him right in front of you. How
’
s that sound,
‘
Wolfe
’
?
”

He placed emphasis on the word
‘
Wolfe
’
. Sarcastic emphasis.

A nagging doubt began to slip into Jake
’
s mind. Was the gang being truthful with him? There was something they were hiding. Archfiend was amused by Wolfe
’
s name. Too amused.

Wolfe grunted. Jake glanced across and saw the two slayers patrolling the perimeter were getting closer.

They were five metres away.

Four.

There was no more time to think.

Jake launched up out of the bushes, machete in one hand, pistol in the other.

Both slayers whipped up and stared at the space he had materialised from, momentarily shocked. He shot the closest one through the forehead at point blank range. Push-kicked it into the dirt. Then he vaulted over its dead body and swung the machete into the second slayer
’
s neck. The blade sliced almost halfway through. Jake let go of the handle and the machete fell to the ground with the slayer attached.

The ordeal was over in three seconds. The clearing
’
s occupants were only now beginning to notice his presence.

He didn
’
t waste any time. Two rounds were left in the six-shell magazine. He raised the pistol up and fired twice.

It had been a desperation move, and if it had failed Jake would have blown Wolfe and Thorn
’
s hands to shreds. But he trusted his instinct, and it paid off. Both bullets hit their respective targets
–
they shot across the clearing and sliced through the bindings keeping the pair out of action.

Almost as if he had known what was going to happen, Thorn sprung up off the ground with a speed that did not correlate with his size. The big man threw his nearly one-hundred-and-fifty kilogram bulk at Archfiend and crash-tackled the monster off his feet.

At the same time, Wolfe came up and looked at Jake for assistance. Jake was already on the move. He dashed forward and wrenched the machete free from the dead slayer
’
s neck. Then he tossed it through the air. Wolfe caught it one-handed, turned and sprinted at the three slayers on the other side of the clearing.

Three things happened in unison.

Archfiend and Thorn were locked in a colossal wrestling match, each vying for the upper hand. Suddenly, Archfiend scrabbled free and sunk all five of his claws deep into Thorn
’
s thigh. Thorn cried out. Archfiend lashed out with his free hand and hit him so hard in the face that the
crack
echoed throughout the clearing. It was enough to put him down for the count.

At the same time, Wolfe fell onto the three slayers by the tree with an animalistic rage.

One swung at him.

He ducked under the fist and hacked its head clean off.

The other two lunged.

He dropped low and wrapped a thick arm around each slayer
’
s mid-section and drove them backwards into the tree trunk, winding both of them simultaneously. Then he exploded up and skewered the one on the left straight through the heart with the machete, pinning its dead body to the trunk.

The other one reached out with its claws.

He ducked again, came up behind it and snapped its neck with a single tug.

At the same time, Jake chambered the last magazine in his belt into the pistol. Another six rounds. There were five slayers on the other side of the clearing. The last group.

He exhaled and imagined he was back at the house. On the shooting range. They were just moving targets, nothing more. He let his mind go blank and squeezed off five shots in the blink of an eye. Time paused.

All five dropped like dominoes.

*

All the slayers had been cleared out in the space of ten seconds. Wolfe and Jake both turned in time to see Archfiend knock Thorn out with a single strike. He would kill him with the next one.

They both dashed forward, side by side, heading straight for Archfiend. As he picked up speed, Jake saw a blur of movement out of the corner of his eye.

Someone hit him from the side with a flying spear tackle. He fell sideways and collided with Wolfe. The two went sprawling into the mud, rolling head over heels. They came to a rest on their backs, both stunned by the sudden attack.

Jake looked up with dirt in his eyes. His attacker hunched over him. Archfiend advanced until the two were standing side by side. They were both roughly the same height. Jake rubbed the dirt off his face. Blinked twice. The man swam into focus.

Link.

“
No,
”
Jake said.

Link sneered.
“
Don
’
t sound so surprised.
”

“
You
’
ve got to be kidding me,
”
Crank said from behind.

Felix let out a roar and struggled desperately at his bonds.

“
Link, why?!
”
he screamed.

“
Shut up,
”
Link said.
“
I don
’
t need a temper tantrum from you.
”

“
Why?
”
Jake repeated. It was all he could think of saying.

“
Because I found out something about my father, Jake.
”

“
What the hell does that have to do with anything?
”

“
At the hive,
”
Archfiend said.
“
I confronted him while you gentlemen were taking care of the slayers inside. Like I told Wolfe, this has been one big setup from the get-go.
”

Jake said nothing. Things were beginning to dawn on him that he should have realised days ago. A complex puzzle was piecing itself together inside his head.

“
You were covering us,
”
Wolfe said. His voice was cold. He was holding back rage.

Link nodded.
“
At first. Archfiend came up from behind and pinned me down. He probably knew I would kill him otherwise. But then he started talking. He explained a few things to me that changed my mind about where my loyalties lie.
”

“
You coward,
”
Crank said.

Link walked over to the helpless man. Crank stared up at him defiantly.

“
Shame what happened to your leg, buddy,
”
Link said.
“
Let me finish, boys. Then you
’
ll get a chance to speak before I kill you all.
”

He turned to Jake.

“
You know, I always wondered why was Dad involved in all this. I remember expressing my feelings to you about this recently, Jake. And finally, at the hive
…
Archfiend told me why.

“
Dad created them.
”

“
No
…”
Jake whispered.

“
Oh, yes,
”
Link said.
“
He
was
the scientist. He was never an aeronautics engineer. My whole life, he lied to me. Apparently, he was a genius. IQ of 182. This guy
”
–
he jabbed Archfiend
–
“
remembers that much from his human days. After Dad graduated, he was offered a dozen different placements. Genetic modification was his specialty. He took a job at a gene-altering lab, one of the best in Japan. But his ideas were too politically incorrect. They said he couldn
’
t carry on with the experiments. But he did them anyway. So they fired him. With all of his dreams crushed, he broke into his old lab, stole all his equipment and spent two months experimenting on his friend. A man who wanted power, and would go through anything to have it.
”

“
Arch?
”
Jake said.

“
Bingo. Wolfe probably told you this story already.
”

“
No,
”
Jake said.
“
He told me Arch was an Alzheimer
’
s patient. He told me the scientist had found the cure.
”

Link turned to Archfiend.
“
You used to suffer from Alzheimer
’
s?
”

Archfiend smiled and shook his head.

Link laughed.
“
I wish he did. Truth is, my old man was nothing more than a sick bastard who wanted a pet monster. He never wanted me as his son. I was too weak. He only wanted Archfiend. So much so that he followed him all the way into this place. The Amazon Rainforest. Seventeen years ago. When he rescued your squad, Wolfe, he wasn
’
t trying to kill it. He certainly didn
’
t expect you to start hunting them. All he wanted was to talk to Archfiend again.
”

“
How do you know all this?
”
Jake said.

“
Well, because Dad eventually
did
find Archfiend,
”
Link said.
“
After the fiasco in the rainforest. And you know what he did? He offered me as a sacrifice, to demonstrate his loyalty. A nice meal to welcome Archfiend into the family.
”

“
That
’
s sick.
”

“
I know it is. And Archfiend sent him away. But then my good friend here thought better of that. He followed Dad back to our house. And killed him right in front of me. He chose not to accept Dad
’
s offer. He ignored his instincts to save my life. Of course, I had no idea what was happening at the time. I didn
’
t know Dad was involved. But you did, didn't you, Wolfe?
”

Wolfe said nothing.

“
You all did,
”
Link said, turning a full three-hundred-and-sixty degrees. There was venom in his eyes.
“
You all knew. Dad told you he was the scientist. Maybe not the rest, but at least that. And you kept it from me. You made up some crap about Alzheimer
’
s, and how you didn
’
t know why he was involved. You all lied to me.
”

There was silence.

“
Well?
”
Link yelled.
“
Are you going to deny it?
”

“
We knew,
”
Wolfe said.
“
As soon as you told us who your dad was, we knew right then and there that he was the one who started all this. But we couldn
’
t tell you your own father was a psychopath. You wouldn
’
t have been able to handle it.
”

“
Maybe I would have,
”
Link said.
“
Back then, maybe I wouldn
’
t have cared. I could have moved on. But not now. Not sixteen years later, when I finally find out that my father was a monster, and my half-brother is a monster. I guess it runs in the family. So I figured, why should I hide who I really am?
”

Link rubbed vigorously at his face with both his palms. He reached up and fingered a pair of contacts out of his eyes. Jake sat in silence, baffled by the action. Then he saw what lay underneath.

Link was already halfway along the transformation process. He had been wearing simple concealer makeup. Now, he wiped it away to reveal stark white skin, nearly the same colour as Archfiend
’
s. Underneath the contacts, bloody streaks of red zigzagged across his pupils. Lastly, he reached up and plucked a pair of dentures from his gums. His teeth underneath were rotting and yellow. He was turning.

Half man, half slayer.

“
No,
”
Jake whispered again. Wolfe groaned and bowed his head.

“
Archfiend bit me,
”
Link boasted, grinning, exposing sharp teeth.
“
Back at the hive. I asked for it. Because I knew whose side I wanted to be on. And that was the only way to convert.
”

“
You
’
re a complete psychopath,
”
Crank said.
“
I feel sick knowing that I was your friend.
”

Link laughed cruelly.
“
It
’
s not too bad. I
’
m starting to feel powerful. I can jump further. Sure, I
’
ll lose my intelligence in a couple of days. Who cares? I
’
d rather be a slayer than on the same side as a bunch of lying traitors.
”

“
That
’
s not a good enough reason to turn,
”
Wolfe said. He looked up.
“
You could have put it all in the past, Link. You could have moved on. There has to be something else.
”

Link shrugged.
“
It was half that. And you know the other half. You know what Archfiend
’
s been planning. He told me too. Just face it, Wolfe. You
’
ve lost. You, and your petty group of slayer hunters. We were never anything. Archfiend has grander plans than any of you could ever imagine, and they
’
ve already been set in motion. Pity you won
’
t be alive to see the end result.
”

Memories were flashing through Jake
’
s mind, faster than he could comprehend.

“
When you ran into the warehouse,
”
he said.
“
After Wolfe had been taken. You looked horrible. Like you
’
d seen a ghost.
”

“
I
’
d just been bitten,
”
Link said.
“
I must say, I felt like throwing up those first few hours. Took some effort to hold it in.
”

“
You
…
you came back
after
those four slayers. When we set up camp.
”

Link smiled.
“
You
’
re getting the picture, I like it. Of course I wasn
’
t going to the toilet. I led them straight to you. And if you can recall, I wasn
’
t too happy about Crank and Thorn taking a different route. Archfiend wanted you all in one big group. Easy targets.
”

“
Enough talking,
”
Archfiend hissed.
“
It starts soon.
”

Link raised his Snowdog up and aimed the barrels at Jake.
“
You know, kid, you
’
re the only decent one here. So I
’
ll kill you first. Spare you the wait.
”

“
I never did anything to you,
”
Jake said.
“
None of us did. These other five guys here
…
they were trying to protect you by keeping the truth about your dad a secret. You can
’
t justify switching sides with that story. It
’
s just an excuse. Truth is, Link
…
you
’
re a traitor, through and through. And you
’
ll always be a coward.
”

Jake was surprised at his eloquence in the face of danger, suddenly calm as he saw what was unfolding before him.

Link snarled and his face twisted grotesquely, momentarily morphing into that of a slayer. Then he returned to normal, breathing hard.
“
Yeah, well, at least I
’
m not about to die. Remember what I told you during training, Jake?
Pay attention to your surroundings.
Maybe, you could have avoided this, if you were concentrating.
”

Jake smiled.
“
I guess I could say exactly the same to you.
”

Link paused for a moment, confused.

Then Sam came up from behind and drove his fist down, knuckles out, into the back of Link
’
s neck. He was possessed with rage. The fist came down with such force that Jake heard the audible
crack
of breaking bone. Link
’
s head snapped backwards as he fell.

Wolfe sprung up off his back, but Archfiend was faster.