“The skeletons don’t make sense if a bomb wiped everything out,” Levi said, his small face thoughtful. “No one would have time to string them up. But if they were a warning about a war…”
Jolie spelled into Bunny’s hand and Bunny translated.
“Jolie says they might have been a warning about a disease—like, don’t come any closer because people die here.”
“That’s true,” I said tiredly. “That would explain why they didn’t burn the bodies, like normal people.” All I wanted was to check in with Cassie and Tim back at camp, but all I had left of the cell phone Strepp gave me was the SIM card. Stupid plastic piece of crap.
“The map at the underground stop showed we should keep going in this direction,” Nate said.
His words were interrupted by a low growl coming from overhead.
I gave Levi and Mills narrow-eyed looks. “Cut that out—it’s creepy.”
“That wasn’t me,” Mills protested, and Levi echoed him.
Nate moved around the fire to the cave entrance and looked around. Our night vision was shot because of the fire. Before he could say anything, another growl made my blood run cold. I jumped up as a huge animal leaped onto Nate, knocking him down.
“Wolf!” Bunny screamed, scrambling to her feet. I heard a thunk as her head hit the cave roof and she gasped.
“Cassie!” Nate screamed in a voice I’d never heard before. I grabbed my pistol and ran out to see a tsunami of wolves jumping down from the outcropping above the cave entrance, one after the other. Everywhere were lunging, snapping jaws, deep-throated snarls, and panicked screams of terror.
I threw myself on top of the wolf pinning Nate, stuck my gun in its side, and pulled the trigger. It howled and drew back. I had a second of seeing blood-red rage in its eyes before it fell sideways. A glance at Nate showed him lying still, his eyes open, looking upward.
46
“HELP!” BUNNY SHOUTED. ARMS BLOODY, she was straining against an enormous black-pelted wolf, trying to keep its sharp teeth from her throat. Crouching by Nate’s side, I aimed and shot the animal in its head. It dropped like a sack of wheat, and Bunny staggered back.
Jolie had taken a burning branch from our fire and was swiping it at three animals circling her. They backed away from the flame when it was close and lunged for her when they could.
“Shoot them!” Mills screamed, unholstering his own pistol and firing at a hulking black wolf. I took a split second to gauge angles. I shot five times and dropped three wolves. Instantly another animal lunged. Jolie swung her burning branch like a baseball bat, and the wolf yelped and ran off, its fur lit with fire.
Still they kept coming, more than I could count. I’d been chased by a mean dog once, and had been terrified as I hopped a fence, its yellowish teeth snagging the hem of my jeans. This was infinitely worse.
“I’m out of bullets!” I shouted, reaching for the hunting knife in my shin sheath. It would have to do until I could grab my rifle; there was no time to reload. An enormous silver-streaked beast leaped at me, its paws as big as my hands. Its weight knocked my breath away and I made no noise as I hit the ground. I felt its sharp fangs pierce my jacket, then my skin and muscle, time spinning out as I lay there in shock. Somehow I still held my knife and sank it into the wolf’s side as hard as I could. The blade scraped a rib; I pulled it out and angled it upward, pushing to the hilt. The wolf yelped and jerked but came down on me again, its hot breath in my face. Again I pulled the knife out and stabbed, over and over until the heavy weight sank on me, smelling of heat and fur and blood. I heard gunshots and shouting. They sounded very far away.
With a hard shove, I pushed most of the heavy animal off me, its sticky blood running onto my jeans. “Team! Report!” I gasped. I looked around but didn’t see any more wolves.
Mills said, “I’m okay,” in a strained voice.
Shakily I got to my feet and staggered over to Nate. He lay on his back beneath the wolf, his open eyes still staring skyward. His throat was a mess and his limp hands were covered in blood.
“I’m okay!” Bunny called. “So is Jolie.”
“Levi?” I said, still kneeling by Nate.
There was no answer.
“Oh, God,” Bunny said, sinking down next to a small form on the ground.
“I’m okay.” Nate’s voice was a hoarse whisper. I was shocked that he was alive, and could speak. In fact, I was shaking all over, my shoulder was killing me, and I was covered in blood. It had happened so damn fast.
“Becca!” Bunny said. Quickly I knelt by Levi and searched for a nonexistent pulse.
“Oh, Levi,” I breathed, looking at him, little fourteen-year-old Levi who never should have been a soldier in the first place. His sweet face was untouched, but his torso was a raggedy mess of horrific gore. I put my hand over my mouth, wanting to scream or cry or fall to pieces.
Every one of us bore the effects of the wolf attack. Nate might be dying. Levi was dead. Some leader I was, huh?
47