"Fleeing?" I asked, and looked at the screen, comparing it with the signatures from the vampires. Indeed, the monster appeared to be fleeing away from the vampire energy signatures. Maybe they had encountered the creature and decided to fight it. My hopes of Kane making an appearance sank inside me, but this was a big development. "Let's get out there."
"They appeared out of nowhere, just like you said happened with the monster," one of the Bureau soldiers warned with a frown. "I've been watching this screen for the last hour. They were suddenly just there."
That definitely fit my description of the monster. It could also have been a gate, but either possibility bore investigation.
"Let's move, people," I shouted, and led my team out. "I want scopes out. We should assume the vampires are at least neutral, but approach with caution. I'm not sure if I’ll know these guys." We rushed down the road. I pumped my legs excitedly despite my muscles being tired. This brought on a flood of adrenaline, which energized me. "Colin, I'm going to call out when we hit the tree line. If we do know them, they'll recognize my loud voice, but be ready with your rifle in case that monster comes back."
"Got it."
We reached the area where the scanners said the signatures were nearby.
"My name is Captain Roxy Taylor," I yelled. Holt nodded at me, confirming that the monster was still moving away from us. Good, then I could scream all I wanted. "I'm with the Bureau. Identify yourselves and come out."
A scuffle sounded from the woods. We heard approaching footsteps in the forest, and someone hesitantly called back, "Roxy?"
I raised an interested brow, wondering who was about to pour out of those trees. They were thirty yards into that forest, if I had to guess, and approaching fast.
"Roxy," the voice cried again. I knew that voice! How could I forget the same tone that had handed me constructive criticism for years on end? It was Lyra!
Lyra Sloane rushed out of the forest with a disbelieving grin on her face. Dorian followed close behind her, but I was lost to the world. I ran forward. I hadn’t realized how badly I needed to see them until they arrived. With a shout of rough delight, I slammed into Lyra and drew her into the world’s biggest bear hug. Even Colin, who was usually very reserved, gave them a rare smile. Dorian nodded in acknowledgment.
“You jerk,” I howled. “I saw you chase my monster away on the scanner.”
She pulled back. “You know about the monster?" An excited, surprised tremor shook her voice. "Wait, we have an injured man. He needs medical attention."
I looked behind her. Bryce and Sike emerged from the forest, helping an unknown man. The man was severely injured, with an amputated arm wound. I called Sylas over immediately, turning back to see new faces in Lyra's group. A bright-faced vampire bounded forward. She was bleeding from her side but appeared unbothered by it. A tall redhead whose uniform had seen better days trailed behind, with a prim look and a soldier’s persona.
"Bryce, it's so good to see you," I gushed as Sylas got to work on the injured man. Colin hovered beside me, quietly delighted to see our old captain as well.
"He'll need lots of care," Bryce said worriedly, with an appreciative nod toward me and Sylas. "He's the only survivor we've got from Black Rock." Sylas nodded and immediately commed for backup from the other soldiers. In the distance, I heard our allies making their way to us from the town.
Dorian ran his hand through his hair, swearing in disbelief. "Where are we?" he asked.
"You’re no longer in the Utah Leftovers. Welcome to the Sierra Nevada mountains," I told them, and Lyra's mouth fell open slightly. “Who are your new people?"
The smiling vampire hopped forward. "My name is Chandry." She elbowed the redhead playfully. He lifted a hand, which was as large as his thin face.
"I'm Cameron Bryce," he said.
"My nephew," Bryce said with a bit of pride. Cam's face lit up for the tiniest second before his soldier's mask crushed the emotion. I grinned with a nod.
"Pleased to meet you," I told them and threw my hands out. "Meet the Hellraisers. Colin, help Sylas get our survivor back to camp. We need to phone in for a chopper to come get him to a hospital. Sylas can stabilize him until then." Sylas nodded and waved over the approaching soldiers. They loaded the injured man onto a stretcher and then moved carefully but hurriedly back to town.
"Holt, anything on the scanner?" I asked. We needed to make sure the monster was gone before getting down to the niceties.
"Negative, Captain. It's completely disappeared, just like last time," Holt said. I briefly introduced Lyra’s team to him, the twins, Evans, and Jones. I caught Lyra staring at me as we turned to walk back to camp. I was excited to compare notes, but something in her stare made me pause.
"What?" I asked her.
She fought off a sneaky smile. "Nothing. Just impressed."
Well, that's enough to float my ego for the next week. Down to business, then.
"Tell me about your experiences with the monster," I told them. As we walked back, Lyra and her teammates launched into a rough explanation of their adventures. I had plenty of questions for them as they talked.
"What time is it?" Lyra asked. I told her half past three, according to my watch, and her brow furrowed. "It's an hour later in Utah than it should be for us. There’s an entire hour missing… Odd."
"How did you get here?" I asked her. She let out a hefty sigh and broke into a brief explanation of the creature's abilities. I nodded excitedly, explaining that I'd seen the same thing when I’d tangled with the monster, but I hadn't understood it. We stopped on the edge of town outside the medical tent where Sylas was taking care of the survivor, whom I now knew as
