Hunter's Heart (Alpha Pack #4)(40)

The reminder that Daria had discovered the first body, and could easily have fallen victim to this creature as she went about her job, had him breaking out in a cold sweat. He was glad she was at the magically warded compound, well away from danger. That was about the only point in this day's favor.

Just to the right of the area marked by the crime scene tape, Ryon saw the glow of a figure seated on the ground. He moved closer and saw that it was the spirit of a man with his arms encircling his legs, staring forlornly into space.

"Whatcha got?" Aric asked. "Another Casper?"

"Yeah. It's the male victim. He's confused."

Ryon was about to try to question the man when another ghost appeared beside him-the woman that Ryon had seen twice before. Looking up, joy bloomed on the man's face and he bolted to his feet, taking her into his arms. They held on to each other as though they'd never let go, and a lump formed in Ryon's throat. He never got to see happy endings, and guessed this one was as close as he'd ever seen.

The man spun his wife around, then kissed her soundly. Then, hand in hand, they walked toward the trees . . . and disappeared into thin air.

Ryon cleared his throat. "They're together now."

"Well, that's good," Micah said quietly. "I guess."

The others agreed halfheartedly. Ryon contacted his commander.

Nick? How's it going?

Not great, Nick pushed back to him. We've found another body, six miles south of where Daria found the woman. It's a god-awful mess.

Sheriff on the way?

Yeah.

Okay. Nothing here yet, except I saw the spirit of the man close to the site where he was found. His wife showed up and they were reunited.

Did either of them say anything to you?

No. They were too wrapped up in each other. Never noticed me.

Okay. I'll check in soon.

"Nick said they've got a body," he told the group. "Six miles south of where the woman was found. Said it's a mess."

There were several curses and expressions of general disgust. Aric was most likely about to pop off a smartass remark when he stopped and squinted into the trees ahead.

"Man, I think my vision is messed up."

Ryon looked in the direction his friend was staring. "What is it?"

"Over there." He pointed. "Do you see a big area where the trees look blurry?"

Micah piped up. "I see it. Looks like a kaleidoscope effect, only clear."

Ryon's eyes studied the big area, his brain slow to catch up with what he was seeing. And when he did, a roar shook the entire forest that sounded just as Daria had described.

"Fucking Christ," Micah shouted as the blur detached itself from the trees.

The pum-pum of the beast's feet slamming into the earth as it ran toward them reminded him of a scene out of Jurassic Park. Only instead of a T. rex, the creature bearing down on them was almost a dead ringer for Nick's drawing of it.

Except the f**ker was almost invisible.

No wonder the thing had been able to sneak up on unsuspecting hikers. They couldn't see the damned beast until it was too late.

Nick! The beast is here, it's attacking! We're gonna try to catch it!

On our way, hang tight!

Whatever was going to happen, Nick couldn't prevent it. Ryon just hoped their commander wasn't forced to scoop up their remains with a shovel.

Ryon and his teammates formed a square around the creature as it skidded to a halt in the middle, bellowing. He watched in sick fascination as that maw opened wide, the outlines of two rows of jagged teeth visible if you knew just how to look. The beast snapped its broad head toward him and just stopped. Stared. Its bulky arms were held out slightly from its sides, long, razor-sharp claws deadly on the ends of its webbed fingers.

Ryon suddenly realized the beast was confused. It had obviously not encountered any sort of opposition from anyone in the weeks since it had escaped from the lab, and it didn't know what to do now. For a fleeting few seconds, he thought maybe the man inside the beast would take over, allowing them to take him in peacefully so the doctors could work on a cure.

He should've known it wasn't going to be that simple.

He held out a hand. "Hey, man. We want to help you. Why don't you-"

The creature let out another deafening roar and charged him. Scrambling backward, Ryon barely managed to escape a swipe with those deadly claws. Then the net was thrown over the beast's head, stopping his attack. It swiped and screeched, pissed off and trying to get out of the net. Jax tossed the rope, attempting to lasso its shoulders, but the creature managed to grab the rope, yanking it right out of Jax's hands and trampling it underfoot as he dropped it.

Rushing forward, they grasped the edges of the net and tried to wrestle the beast to the ground. If they could make him fall, all four of them might be able to hold him until he was tied up.

It didn't work out that way. The creature used the net to sling them with all his strength, the net flying off him. Ryon, Jax, and Aric were flung in different directions-

But Micah, the closest one to the raging monster, was now caught in the net. As the thing stomped over to him, Micah's eyes widened and he worked frantically to free himself. He shifted his hands into claws and sliced at the net, just as the monster seized his leg and started pulling him backward.

"Fuck! Somebody do something!" he yelled.