Releasing the Hunter

Chapter 19

Ronan lost control of the steering wheel and veered off to the right, bumping up onto the curb and sidewalk. “Jesus! What was that?”

That answer came when a body rolled down the windshield and over the hood to land in a heap in front of the car.

He glanced at Ivy, who had two knives unsheathed and was staring out the front window. “Do you think he was thrown or did he jump?” she asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t think we should stick around to find out.” He put the car in Reverse and backed up off the curb and onto the street.

The body that had “fallen” onto the roof of their car struggled to his feet. He looked like an average guy, average height and weight, wearing a flannel shirt, jeans and runners. But when he turned toward the car and grinned at them, blood dripping down his chin from what looked like a busted nose and some missing teeth, Ronan knew there wasn’t anything average about this guy.

“Welcome to Sumner, bitches!” The guy lurched ahead, reaching for the car.

“Jesus, the bastard’s possessed,” Ivy hissed. “I wonder how many others are, as well.”

Ronan glanced in his rearview mirror and saw three more people, two men and a young woman, coming up on their rear, grinning like fools. “I’m going to guess and say a bunch.” He shot it into Drive and stepped on the gas. “Hang on.”

He raced down the street, then took another left to avoid going back down the main drag. As they zipped down the road, veering around two more abandoned vehicles in the middle of the street, Ronan noticed another car following behind.

“We’ve got company.”

Ivy glanced over her shoulder and through the back window. “He’s gaining on us.”

“I can see that.”

He cranked the wheel to the left, jumped the curb and drove half on, half off the sidewalk to avoid another car sitting in the street. Coming up on the next corner, he took it at top speed, skidding to the side, but he kept in control. A glance in the rearview mirror showed the other vehicle slagging off.

He was about to smile when in his periphery he spied a truck coming at them from the side. “Hang on!” he yelled just as the truck slammed hard into the passenger side, barely missing the door.

The impact sent them into a spin. Ronan could barely steer as the car careened off the road and slammed into a light post, crushing the front end like an accordion. He knocked his forehead against the steering wheel. Thankfully he’d been wearing a seat belt or else he would’ve gone through the windshield.

He turned to his side to check on Ivy. She, too, had hit her head on the dashboard, but didn’t fare as well. She had a big gash above her right eye. Blood dribbled down her face, obscuring her vision. She wiped at it with the back of her hand.

He reached over and touched her shoulder. “Are you—” His heart slammed in his chest. “Out of the car! Out! Now!” He pushed the release on her seat belt and, grabbing her hand, yanked her across the seat. He pushed open his door and slid out, pulling her with him.

They both tumbled to the ground. But Ronan scrambled up, tugged his shotgun out of the car, and yanked Ivy to her feet. By now, she’d totally seen the truck roaring toward their smashed car and was already running full speed away from the scene.

He caught up with her just as she jumped over a small white fence around some person’s front yard. They plowed across the green grass toward a side fence. Without stopping, Ronan kicked the wooden gate off its hinges and they raced alongside the bungalow and into the backyard. Thankfully there was no guard dog on duty.

They crossed the yard to the back fence, which butted up to another yard. It was a six-foot wooden structure and not easily jumped. When Ronan got to it, he bent down and cupped his hands for Ivy. She stepped up into them, grabbed hold of the top and hefted herself over. Once she landed, he vaulted it in one leap.

She sniffed at him. “Must be nice.”

“It doesn’t hurt, that’s for sure.”

“Now where?”

“We can’t stop here. I suspect they’ll be looking for us.” He glanced to the side and down the row of houses. “I say we jump a couple more fences that way, then into a house. We need a minute to figure this out.”

“Let’s not take too long, okay?”

After they jumped three more fences, they found a house with an unlocked sliding-glass balcony door. They entered the house. No one was at home. But it looked like it had been vacated in a hurry. There were half-eaten meals on the table, and the TV was on in the living room. It appeared that the occupants had either jumped ship or been taken out.

Ivy opened the refrigerator and found a couple of bottles of water. She tossed one to Ronan and uncapped the other, taking some greedy gulps. She finished half the bottle, then capped it again.

“So what are we dealing with? An entire possessed town?”

He drank some water, and then shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like this. Never heard of anything like this, either.” He neared her, and grabbing a dish towel, he splashed it with some water and dabbed at the cut on her forehead.

It wasn’t bleeding freely anymore, which was good. He wiped at it and saw that it was sealing up. For good measure he pressed his thumb to it to help it along. After a solid minute he dropped his hand and took a step back.

She nodded to him. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” He wanted to pull her to him and kiss her, or at least hold her close. They’d nearly been hurt badly. He wouldn’t be able to stand it if she had been. His healing came with limits. He wasn’t able to mend everything. Serious wounds were beyond his scope. If she’d been crushed in the car, he doubted if he would have been able to save her.

He didn’t want to think about it. It hurt too much to consider it. So he made his way into the living room to peer out the front window and assess their situation. Crouching, he pushed aside one part of the sunny-yellow drape and peered out to the street.

A car rolled by, slowly making its way down the street. He imagined the occupant was looking for them. Then he saw three people walking down the sidewalk. It was the same three people he’d seen earlier, coming up behind their car. He ducked down as they passed the house.

Ivy crawled to where he was situated. “What did you see?”

“The three that passed were demons.”

“Are you sure?”

He nodded. “Positive. They weren’t hiding their red eyes.”

“So we have a bunch of demons and possessed townspeople.”

“Looks like it.”

“Where’s the resistance? I saw some bullet holes along the main street and some blood. There have to be people here fighting against them.”

“Your brother among them?”

She nodded. “Let’s hope so.”

“Well, I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that if there is a resistance, they definitely would’ve been alerted to our presence. We did make a kind of splashy entrance.”

Smiling, Ivy said, “Yeah, I’d say.”

“So the best way for them to find us is out on the street, not hiding in this house.”

“I hate sneaking around anyway. It’s not my style.”

He looked her over, taking in everything about her, and grinned. “No, it certainly isn’t.”

“I think our best bet would be back out on Main Street.”

“Agreed.” He glanced out the window again. “We’re only a block away. We can sprint across the street and through that side fence.” He pointed to a spot two doors down. “I imagine there’ll be an alleyway separating the houses and the back of the main stores.”

“Okay.” She unsheathed two of her longest, deadliest blades. “I’m good for close work.”

Ronan pumped a round into his shotgun. “I got you covered.”

“Good. Then let’s not waste time by talking.” She was about to open the front door when he grabbed her arm to stop her. He leaned down and kissed her. He had to. He couldn’t go into whatever it was they were going into without having felt her lips on his once more.

When they broke apart, she licked her lips. “Don’t look at me like we’re not going to get through this. Because we are. I won’t let anything happen to you. Don’t worry.”

He laughed at that. “Okay, I won’t.”

She gave him her most winning smile, and then opened the front door. On a count of three, they ran out onto the street and hopefully not to their doom.

They crossed the street with little problem and went into the backyard of the house two down from their hiding spot. The back fence was another tall one, and he’d been right about it butting up against an alley.

Before they jumped it, Ronan peered through the slats. He looked down one way, then the other. So far, the coast was clear. “Looks good.” He bent over and gave Ivy a hand up. Once she was on top of the fence, she swung her legs over and jumped down.

“Clear,” she said, as she waited for him.

He vaulted up on top of the fence and perched there for only a second. But it was enough for a bullet to find him and pierce through his shoulder.

The impact sent him spiraling off the fence. He landed on his side on the gravel. Ivy was on him in seconds, pulling him up, but mindful of his bloodied arm.

“Shit. You’ve been shot.”

“It’s fine. I’ll live. Let’s get out of here.”

Together, they scrambled out of the alley, down another, between two stores and out onto Main Street. Here there were more people milling about. Ronan didn’t know if they were demons or the possessed. He couldn’t tell from this distance. And as far as he could discern, he and Ivy hadn’t been spotted yet.

He motioned toward one burned car. “Over there. We can hunker down behind it.”

They ran to the car and crouched behind the back bumper. Ivy pulled at his shirt. “Let me see.”

Ronan rolled up his sleeve over his shoulder. Blood ran down from the wound. He prodded it with his finger. “It’s not bad.” He searched behind and found the exit hole. “It went through.”

“We need to patch you up.” She reached into the pack she had strapped to her belt. She unzipped it and came away with some alcohol wipes and some gauze pads. She ripped open the wipe package. “It’s going to sting.”

“Can’t hurt more than it already does.”

“Don’t be a baby.” She wiped it across the open wound.

Ronan nearly shot to his feet. The pain was sharp and stinging. It almost brought tears to his eyes. After she finished, she pressed the hole with three gauze pads and secured them with tape. When she was done, she rolled down his shirtsleeve.

He tested the tape job by rolling his shoulder. “Not bad.”

She shrugged. “You’re not the only one that can heal.”

He lifted up his shotgun again and peered around the car. The people that had been on the street were now gone. He scanned the storefronts and the rooftops. Nothing. He didn’t like the feeling that crept over him.

“I think we may have a problem.”

The metal barrel nudging the back of his head confirmed that statement.

“What are you doing out here making all this noise?” the male gunman asked.

“Trying to get your attention,” Ivy answered.

Ronan pictured another gunman pointing a weapon at Ivy. There was no way this one guy would still be standing if there hadn’t been.

“Yeah, well, you definitely got it now,” the gunman answered.

“They’re demons, Bill,” the other gunman said. “Let’s take them out and get out of here.”

Ronan heard a round going into a chamber.

“Wait,” Ivy growled. “My name is Ivy Strom and I’m here looking for my brother, Quinn Strom. Do you know him?”

There was an audible sigh from one of the two men, and then Ronan heard a safety going on. Obviously they’d heard of Quinn Strom.

“You better be who you say you are, or you’re going to die, nice and slow.”