The dog’s continued growling, joined by a noise from up the trail, forced the creature to look away and into the direction of the sound. Rogers and James were slowly approaching with their rifles held up, the crumpled bodies of the red-sleeved soldiers lying dead at their feet.
“Take it easy there, Gold Finger,” James said, moving ahead and leading the way with his rifle’s barrel.
The Gold stiffened, its head shifting from Jacob to James while its gloved hand moved along with its head. It stopped on James and pointed a gold finger.
“Now, I ain’t sure what it is you got going on with that fancy glove, but where I come from it ain’t friendly to point,” James said.
The alien curled its finger, gracefully retracted its hand, and then removed its helmet. James’ jaw dropped as his head leaned back, his eyes squinting in the low light. The creature revealed a soft feminine face. Perfectly shaped and formed like the finest porcelain doll. Rain pelted off its smooth hairless head, water running down and over high cheek bones. The alien lowered its arm and rested the helmet on its hip. She blinked wide eyes and spoke in a smooth female voice. “I submit; I am yours to do with as you wish.”
James stammered, taken aback by the alien’s appearance and soft-spoken words. He sarcastically shook his head then exhaled loudly, regaining his senses. “Oh no, this isn’t the first time I’ve had a pretty gal tell me that. Never ends well for me, usually passed out and naked with all my credit cards gone.”
“Cover and bind it,” Rogers said. Stomping forward, he slapped a pair of zip ties in James’ hand.
Jacob watched as the bearded scout nodded and yanked a bit of cloth from his belt. He grabbed the slender alien by the shoulders and spun it around, blindfolding it. He took its right wrist and bound it with a zip tie, but before he could wrap the left wrist, the hand opened, revealing a flash of light. James’ arm’s stiffened, and he convulsed while falling back. Rogers was still close. He swung hard, catching the creature in the solar plexus with the butt of his rifle.
The alien reeled, releasing James from his agony. The creature turned, now trying to direct its weapon at Rogers. Before it could, the soldier stomped down heavily on the outside of the alien’s knee, forcing it down, while Rogers threw a forearm to direct the alien’s weapon up and away. The creature let out a screeching gasp as it fell into the thick mud.
Rogers moved by the crumpled form and kicked its ankles so that they were close together. With his boot on the thing’s back, he squatted low and grabbed the creature’s gloved wrist then twisted it so hard Jacob thought it may snap. Unable to remove the weaponized glove, he used a roll of tape and made several passes to get the tape to stick in the pouring rain. He wrapped the gloved hand into a fist before binding it to the other then taped the creature’s arms to its waist. “Try that again and I cut the hand off,” he said.
Rogers then eased back and taped the ankles together. He leaned down and easily hoisted the now restrained creature to his shoulder. James was still recovering on the ground, sitting up wide eyed and forcing an embarrassed smile to his face. “You okay?” Rogers asked.
“They get me every damn time,” he chuckled.
“Give it a rest! It isn’t even human,” Rogers spat. “Get off your ass; we need to move.”
Jacob smirked and extended a hand, pulling James back to his feet; the scout stood and slapped the wet mud from his pants. “What about them?” Jacob said, pointing to the dead.
White lights came on in the far distance, emitting a soft glow that outlined the hilltop and backlit the radio tower.
“Leave ’em, there’s no time,” Rogers said, already moving toward the bunker door. Crossing the remaining distance at a near jog, Jacob followed Rogers’ lead, with James lagging behind, still recovering from the stun. The bunker door was partially concealed by cut limbs and pine boughs, but not enough to completely hide it. Rogers moved past it to the sloping hill and dropped the creature hard to the ground. He spun back to Jacob. “Keep an eye on it.”
Jacob nodded and moved toward the crumpled form and knelt down with his rifle close to his chest. He watched James move in and take a position across from the door with Duke by his side. Rogers worked his way through the cover of the brush and tapped lightly on the door before lifting a latch and swinging the door in. A low rectangle of light cut out and Rogers turned back. “Get inside, now.”
Chapter Seventy-Five
The building was old; exposed rough-cut planks covered with heavy coats of paint reflected back the soft glow of gas lanterns. High industrial rafters were covered with webs and stained with dust and smoke from a hundred years’ worth of fires. Clem let his eyes adjust as he searched the open space, noting the walls were covered with block and tackle, and rusted hooks wound with heavy rope hung from the ceiling. In the back, he could barely make out a group of people huddled around wooden tables lit low by candlelight, the flickering flames silhouetting the mass of people.
He could smell the wood smoke and a faint scent of roasting meat. People spoke in hushed tones. A vehicle door slammed and he heard the husky woman’s commanding voice behind him. “Leave your gear against the wall; you can hold onto your rifles,” she said as she stomped past him.
Masterson followed her then stopped by Clem’s side. “What do you think?”
Clem dipped his chin. “Do what she says; maybe there’s a hot meal in it for us,” he said, tossing
