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azombiewritesTitle: A Werewolf Investigation
Rating: PG
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
AU: Scientific Paranormal Investigations
Main Characters: Ezra, Buck and the rest.
Summary: The team investigate after a death is reported in Lufkin, Texas where the locals claim a Werewolf was the culprit.
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Spoilers: None
Status: Complete
Total Word Count: 30,509
Ezra had begun counting backwards from forty so he would know exactly when JD was going to turn the lights on. He hoped the distraction they were about to make and his own gunfire would distract the creatures long enough for the others to make it back to the van. Once inside they would be safe. None of them would be out of danger but at least they would no longer be separated. He had only counted ten seconds when gunfire erupted from the woods. He could see the flashes that went with the sound. He silently wished that time would hurry. He continued to count. Only five seconds to go. Everything went silent.
"Shit!" Ezra swore. "Damn you Standish if you’re too late."
The lights went on and Ezra stood up. He quickly glanced around at the creatures that surrounded the van and stood at the edge of the tree outline. He began to fire at them. He didn't care at the moment if he wounded them, killed them or just missed. He needed a clear path for the others so they could hightail it the van. JD would be ready to let them in and all he had to do was to climb back into the van. Then they would need another plan.
The creatures scattered. Some ran behind the van while the others made for the trees. He managed to force two of them off their feet. Ezra ignored the human features and concentrated on what he was doing. He turned around constantly so they couldn't sneak up on him. He saw movement in the trees. It was the others. Ezra heard a noise behind him. He turned just in time to see one of the creatures coming at him.
His only thought was, where the hell did that come from. He pulled the trigger and heard the creature cry out in pain but it didn't stop it's forward momentum. Ezra expected to die. The creature's hand gripped his throat as it pulled the gun from his hand. Ezra could smell the feted breath, he tried to turn his head away and lift the other hand that held a second gun but before he could use it against his assailant, he was thrown from the roof of the van.
The ex-criminal hit the base of a tree with a solid force. The breath had been forced from his lungs. A ringing sounded in his ears and his vision blurred. He felt the pain erupt in his side as he tried to move. A new noise overtook his senses, the breathing of an angry animal. He lifted his head and stared into the dark eyes of what people in Lufkin had begun to call a Werewolf. He saw the large claw as it came towards him. It slammed against the side of his head knocking him into unconsciousness. He didn't feel the branches or stones as they tore at him while he was being dragged to an unknown destination.
________________________________________
"Thank you Ezra." Chris muttered as he fired at the creatures that had managed to surround them. He could hear the gunfire that came from the van. He knew it had to be Ezra because the Southerner wouldn't allow JD to take such risks. The man didn't seem to care about risking his own life but he had a problem allowing others to risk theirs. It was as though he didn't think his life was as important as everyone else's.
"There's nothing in front of us!" Josiah yelled.
"Then let's get going before those lights go out." Chris ordered them.
Four men ran towards the van that was illuminated by bright lights. They could see the human like animals standing back. Their growls of anger reached the ears of the humans causing the hairs on the back of their necks to rise. As they got closer to safety, the animals moved towards them. Chris opened fire hoping to get them to move back to a safe distance. They didn't, the so-called Werewolfs continued to move closer. Chris started to believe they weren't going to make it. Just as the lights had appeared without warning so did the music.
Chris always complained about JD's taste in music but he was willing to hear it now. The humans that looked more like animals screeched in horror as the noise nearly burst their sensitive eardrums. JD's favorite band 'The Offspring' had never sounded so good. The heavy guitar and drum sound echoed around the van. Chris ran even faster than he thought he could. The others were right behind him. The door to the van opened in front of him. He didn't stop, he entered the van then made room for the others. Once everyone had made it inside the door was closed and locked.
"JD! Turn that god damn music off!" Vin yelled at him then smiled in gratitude.
"Now that was close." Josiah muttered after the music faded away.
"It's not over yet." Chris told him. "JD, where's Ezra?"
"He's on the roof." JD looked up. He'd been worried about Ezra. The gunfire from the top of the van had stopped, he'd heard nothing since. "But he hasn't made any noise for a couple of minutes."
Chris frowned and allowed Vin to rush to the emergency exit in the roof. He helped the lighter man up onto the roof then heard a groan and a curse erupt from the security man.
"He's not here." Vin poked his head down into the opening and handed Chris the gun he found on the roof. Vin followed it inside.
"SHIT!" Chris yelled at no one in particular. "That stubborn bastard is going to get himself killed taking risks like this." he began to pace the small area. "Damn it! JD, let Buck know what's happening, he was bound to hear the gunfire. Tell him to stay put. Then we start looking for Ezra."
"What if he's close by?" Vin asked him. "We have to look for him now."
"If we go out there now Vin, we'll all be dead within minutes. There is too many of them."
"Where did they all come from. And if there are so many how come only one of them has been seen?"
Nathan asked the silence that now filled the van.
"I don't know but we're going to find out after we find Ezra." Chris growled.
"Chris." JD waited until the man he respected turned around. "Ezra was just trying to help you guys get back without being hurt."
"I know JD. I just wish . . . aw hell JD I know that. I just don't want him to give his life away so easily. His worth more than he thinks he is. Why he thinks he should die instead of one of us I don't know." Chris patted his shoulder. "Go and call Buck."
"He's not dead." JD told him.
"I know JD." But Chris didn't. Why would they allow Ezra to live. There was no reason. He knew they would be looking for a dead Southerner.
________________________________________
Buck had wanted to charge down the long driveway towards the sound of gunshots. If he'd only heard, one or two then he knew things were okay. But there had been more than a dozen shots fired. That meant trouble. It meant that one of the others may be hurt or even dead. He knew he couldn't leave Gertrude alone. He hoped that Ezra was fine because he was going to make the ex-criminal a dead man. He was looking forward to getting Ezra and Gertrude alone. Photos would be taken and pinned up on the notice board at the office and posted on the Internet for all the other SPI members to see.
He waited while Gertrude baked. The silence that came from the outside would was deafening. He hated this waiting part of the job. He was an electronics expert. He should be in the van with the others, not here baby-sitting . . . godzilla in a short skirt. He had nothing against overweight woman. He loved all women, well he thought he did until he met Gertrude. It was her personality that was ugly. Buck didn't judge woman on their looks, he judged them by their personality. He'd learnt by experience but the woman who had taught him that had died when she tried to protect him. She had given her life for him.
He shook the memory from his mind. He had more important things to think about. He checked his gun again then held it in his hand instead of putting it away. The mobile in his jacket pocket began to ring. He answered and listened to JD's voice. He sighed in relief, at least he knew JD was alright. He swore when he heard the news about Ezra.
"Thanks for letting me know JD . . . yeah I'll stay here . . . let me know if you find Ezra," he paused, "dead or alive." he hung up and put the phone back into his jacket pocket.
"NOT EZRA!" Gertrude screamed. "Don't tell me something's happened to my Ezra!"
Buck tried to ignore her as he made his way to the front door to check the outside area. A small part of him hoped that he would see Ezra walking towards the front door. She followed him.
"Tell me Ezra's okay." Gertrude was actually crying over a man she'd met once for about ten minutes. "He can't be dead. Not my Ezra!" she wailed.
"I'm sure he's okay." Buck attempted to calm her down.
"But the man on the radio said he was gone." She openly wept for the Southerner.
"He'll be fine. Ezra always is."
"I want to find Ezra." she pulled at Buck's jacket.
"You can't Mrs Johnson. It's too dangerous out there at night. We might have to wait till daylight."
"Humph! You just don't want me to find him. You’re jealous because I love Ezra and not you."
Buck groaned. He was dealing with a fifteen year old that was suffering from her first true love. "What if he comes here to you and you’re not here?"
"You think he might come here to me?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm staying right here to wait for him." Gertrude walked back into her living room.
For a brief moment, he actually felt sorry for Ezra. But the feeling only lasted a moment. Worry took control of his mind. He didn't think that Ezra was going to be okay. How could he be? But then again if the others survived . . . no the others had been in a group, they were able to protect each other. JD said Ezra had been alone on the roof of the van. The crazy Southerner took too many risks. They were going to have to do something about that if he was still alive. He had to be. He was only just beginning to accept the others as family. They couldn't lose him now. His eyes continued to scan the woods. He saw movement and held his breath. It was a wolf, it stood on it's four legs staring at the house. Buck frowned, it was as though it was watching them. He let go of the breath he was holding when the wolf turned around and began to walk back towards the trees. He swore when it stood up on it's hind legs and continued to walk until it disappeared from his sight.
________________________________________
"How long are we going to wait?" Josiah demanded to know. "What if he's hurt?"
"I told you, if we go out there now, then someone else will get hurt. I won't allow that to happen." Chris told him. He wanted more than anything to open the door and step out into the night to look for the seventh member of his team. But he knew it would be futile. They would have to wait till daylight.
"We could at least go onto the roof with a torch and look around the immediate area." Vin grabbed a torch without waiting for an answer.
"I'm coming with you." Josiah took another torch and followed his friend up onto the roof.
Chris didn't argue, he was about to do the same thing himself.
"What if one of them bit him?" JD asked from his seat in the corner.
"What are you talking about JD?" Nathan asked him.
"What if they are Werewolfs. You know the folklore. If you get bitten by one and you live, then you become one of them." JD explained.
"I don't believe that." Chris turned away from them. "This is reality. They can be killed and Ezra won't become one of them. If he's alive, we'll get him back. Ezra has my word on that."
"If we can find him." JD spoke the words that had filled them with dread.
What if they couldn't find him? If he was still alive then what was he going through. Was he hiding somewhere or was he being kept a prisoner? Was he in pain? Were they causing him pain? No one wanted to have these thoughts but they couldn't help it. They were worried sick about the ex-criminal who had become part of their small family whether he knew it or not.
________________________________________
Gertrude Johnson, widow and pastry cook waited in her kitchen for news on Ezra Standish. She had overheard that he had been taken by the creatures that roamed the woodland around her home. She had been baking all afternoon in anticipation of his arrival. Pumpkin pies, blue berry pies, chocolate cakes and chocolate chip muffins lined the counters of the large spacious kitchen. Her blue eyes moved towards the back door when she heard a noise. She looked over her shoulder and wondered if the SPI man had heard it. When he didn't come running through the door she knew he hadn't.
She silently moved to the back door and opened it. Nothing jumped out at her, the night was still and silent. She smiled and stepped out into the back yard. Her feet were bare and she reveled in the feel of the grass under her feet. There was movement beside her and she turned quickly towards it, quicker than someone would think she was capable of doing. A creature stood before her. It bowed then waited for her instructions.
"I understand you have him." Gertrude spoke with authority. The animal nodded in agreement. "Is he hurt?" The creature bowed again instead of answering her question. "Answer me!" The animal nodded again. "Go back to him, look after him until I get there." She turned around again to find another standing before her.
"What the hell are you?" Buck Wilmington stood poised ready to fire at what he thought was a human that may turn out to be something else.
"Take him!" It was an order given to the creatures she knew would be there to protect her.
Buck heard the two words and began to pull the trigger but something slamming into his side and knocking him to the ground stopped the gun from firing. It fell from his hand when he hit the hard earth beneath him. He reached for the fallen gun but a clawed hand grabbed his and turned him over onto his back. Buck stared up at a wolf like face, the fangs were large and stained.
"Don't kill him! I can use him to convince Ezra to accept his fate." Gertrude smiled. "He has a mobile phone, get rid of it then take him home. I will be there shortly."
Buck was lifted up to his feet, he was search roughly and when the phone was discovered, it was broken beneath a clawed foot. He was then pulled towards the woods. He struggled within the strong grips but he couldn't free himself. His only thought was that Ezra was still alive but hurt. At least the Southerner will no longer be alone. Maybe together they would be able to find a way to escape.
________________________________________
A Cave in Lufkin Woods - Friday, 2:16am
The memory of what happened flashed through his mind. He wanted to shut them out but they wouldn't leave him alone, they mixed with the memories of their previous case. He could hear ragged breathing and movement around him. He refused to open his eyes to see what it was because he already knew. It hadn't killed him, it had taken him somewhere. He thought life had sucked before but now he had been sucked down the drain into the sewer. He was starting to have second thoughts about this job.
Something hit his shoulder and he cried out in pain. He had to, the pain was too much. He knew his left shoulder was dislocated. It always seemed to happen. These days he only had to bump it and the shoulder joint would pop out. He was going to suffer a lot of pain when he reached old age. If he reached old age. Whatever hit him the first time, hit him again but on a different part of his body. It was as though it didn't want to hurt him again. It grunted at him. He could sense the anger the animal was emitting. He had no choice. He opened his eyes and flinched back from the sight before him.
The animal was on it's haunches facing it's captive. The teeth were sharp and dirty. The head was that of a wolf but the body was more human. The fur that covered it's face was matted with dry blood. The eyes that stared at him were a pale blue. They were the eyes of a human. The body was bare in patches, the pale skin around the lower abdomen showed an appendix scar. A clawed hand reached forward, it still wore a ring on it's left index finger. It had once been human.
"So much for only existing in a person's imagination." Ezra muttered to himself.
It pushed him. Ezra tried to move away from it but the pain in his side and shoulder kept him from going to far. It pushed him again. Ezra didn't know what it wanted. He didn't move the second time, it pushed him harder. He looked over his shoulder to see where it wanted him to go. He gagged as his eyes drifted over the flesh covered bones that sat in a corner of the cave he now knew he was in. It pushed him again, this time an angry growl accompanied it.
"What!" Ezra Standish growled back. "What the hell do you want me to do?"
It nodded towards the back of the cave and pointed. Ezra followed the clawed hand. His eyes stared at the ring and he wondered who this person once was, what sort of life they led and if there were any family members that were looking for him or her. He looked down. Him. It grunted. Ezra looked in the direction it was pointing. There was bedding against the rock wall, also a bowl. It wanted him to go to it. He didn't, he could smell it from here.
"No." Ezra told it. He waited for the physical blow that would try and convince him to do as he was told. It didn't come, instead the animal grunted again. For some reason Ezra was sure it was calling him a stubborn bastard. It moved away from him and sat at the entrance of the opening that led into the small cave. He could see the darkness that was present outside the entrance but he knew the blackness was created by rock walls, he was in a cavern, and there must have been dozens of small caves here. It must be were the creatures are hiding, it explained why they were never found.
Now that he was being left alone, Ezra took the time to check his injuries. There was nothing he could do about his shoulder or injured ribs. In fact, there was nothing he could do. He knew he also had a head injury but didn't think it was that bad, his body took most of the impact when he had been thrown from the van. He had been grateful he didn't hit the tree head first, now as he looked around at his prison he wasn't so sure that death would be better than this.
There were rotting corpses of small animals lying around the dirt floor of the cave. He suddenly wondered if he was being saved for dinner. He tried to swallow but his mouth had suddenly gone dry. He had to find a way to get away. There was only one guarding him, he had to escape before more came. He tried to sit up but the pain caused him to fall back down again. Escaping was going to be harder than he thought. Maybe someone would come to his rescue. He didn't believe that. These creatures hadn't been found yet, he didn't think they would be found now just because they had him. Even with the SPI equipment that was available to Chris and the others it would take too long to find him and by the time they did, he would be part of the bone collection in the corner.
He closed his eyes and tried to hide the images that were scattered around the cave. If he survived this, he was going to have a few nightmares. He'd rather have nightmares than become their dinner. He didn't want to lie in the middle of their leftovers. There was a clear area to his left, he wanted to go there so he could lean against the wall and brought his knees up to his chest, he couldn't though, and it would hurt too much. He would also be able to watch the caves opening without becoming suspicious. He didn't know how much intelligence the creatures had but he wasn't willing to take a chance to find out.
He knew he was incapable of sitting up, he would have to crawl to his destination. He pulled with his right arm and pushed with his legs. They were the only parts of his body that didn't hurt. It took him a while but he managed it. He laid down on his right side, his left shoulder hung at an awkward angle. His ribs hurt and his head hurt. What he needed was a painkiller, not that he could get one here. He could see that the creature had watched his movements, it seemed to be laughing at him. It looked away when it heard a sound in the distance. Ezra hadn't heard anything. It was another fifteen minutes before he saw what the creature had heard. Buck Wilmington was pushed onto the floor of the cave in front of his feet.
"Glad you could join me Buck." The relief he felt sounded in his voice.
"And I'm glad to join you Ezra." Buck smiled but his features became full of concern at the sight of Ezra's appearance. "You okay?"
"Parts of me are and other parts aren't." Ezra didn't make any effort to sit up.
Buck did, he moved to sit next to Ezra. "Where does it hurt?"
"My left side where I hit the tree." Ezra grimaced at the thought.
"You hit a tree?"
"It threw me at a tree, I couldn't avoid the collision." Ezra replied.
"Oh by the way, that amazing woman you told me about," Buck reminded him, "she's a lot worse than you thought."
________________________________________
"Try him again." Chris ordered JD.
JD's concerned brown eyes turned back to his mobile, he'd been trying to contact Buck for thirty minutes without a satisfying result. The electronics expert still failed to answer. JD shook his head at Chris who was beginning to tear his hair out in aggravation. If Chris hadn't seen Gertrude Johnson himself, he would think that Buck was doing something that he shouldn't be doing.
"That's two." Vin commented.
He and Josiah had spent an hour on the roof of the van looking for Ezra. They didn't want to come down until they were sure he wasn't within their reach. They had even contemplated going out on foot to search for him because during the hour their strong torches searched the area they hadn't seen any of the creatures they knew had taken him and now possibly Buck.
"Are we going up there?" JD asked.
"Yes." Chris hung his head in defeat. "Ezra isn't here anymore. We find out what's happened to Buck, if he's in the same predicament as Ezra then we start looking for them at dawn. We'll contact the sheriff and get a search party started."
Chris motioned to Josiah to drive the van up to the Johnson place. His heart was heavy, he couldn't loose one of his friends, let alone two. He didn't know how he would cope if they found them dead or didn't find them at all. He wasn't sure if one of the surviving members would be able to help him recover from the emotional trauma as Buck had done after his wife and son's deaths.
It only took them a couple of minutes to drive to the home of Gertrude Johnson. JD stayed with the equipment to alert them of anyone or anything coming towards the home. He silently hoped that if the monitors did alert him of something that it would be their missing friends. He'd only lost one person to death so far in his life. His mother had died two years ago of Breast Cancer. It hadn't been pleasant for either of them but he hadn't allowed his mother to see how devastated he'd been feeling until after she died. He had to be strong for her, to help her through her time of need. The only thing he was grateful for was the opportunity to spend time with her and tell her how much he loved her and that he would never stop loving her. He didn't say good-bye because he knew she hadn't left him, she was still in his heart and his memory. He thought about her everyday.
Chris motioned for Nathan and Josiah to go around the back and to be careful. He didn't want to lose any more men. He was finding it hard to work knowing that two were already missing, one of them he had known for ten years. He and Vin went through the front door. The house was silent. Chris moved through to the living room, Vin followed closely. They stopped when they heard a door open. They moved silently towards the sound.
They knew it would be Josiah and Nathan but experience told them not to take any risks, they had to make sure first before they made themselves visible to the maker of the sound. Vin glanced quickly around the doorframe. He relaxed his stance and the body movement told Chris that it was okay.
"We found this." Josiah lowered his gun when Vin and Chris made themselves known to them.
"Buck's gun." Chris nodded as he took it from him. "Where was it?"
"Outside, close to the back door. No sign of Buck though." Nathan told him.
"You find anything?" Josiah asked Chris. He could see the worry that was already beginning to show on their leader's face.
"Not yet." Chris turned away from them, he had every intention of searching the rest of the house.
"Any sign of Mrs Johnson?" Vin asked Josiah.
"Gertrude? No."
"Maybe she's gone to find a new decorator." Vin grunted at the sight of the furniture in the living room.
________________________________________
"How can she be any worse Buck." Ezra growled at him.
"She's the leader of this pack." Buck enlightened Ezra to the bad news.
"She's what?!" Ezra looked at the creature that was guarding them when it growled and moved towards him.
"Don't make it angry Ezra." Buck warned him.
Ezra shifted his position and groaned when the pain tore through him. He suddenly felt Buck's hands on him as he lifted him up into a sitting position. He didn't protest or physically try and stop him when he opened up his mid thigh length black leather jacket, but he did grit his teeth together when Buck's fingers pressed against his ribs.
"I'm no Doctor Ezra but I think you might have some busted ribs there."
"I'm no Doctor either and I could have told you that without causing myself extra pain." Ezra retorted.
He felt his head being pulled forward as fingers probed his skull for any breakages in the skin.
"Ouch!" Ezra spat out when Buck pushed against the large lump on the side of his skull. Two fingers appeared in front of his face.
"How many do you see?" Buck asked him as he lifted Ezra's chin up.
"Two. I'm fine Buck, it just hurts that's all."
"Well I'm tellin' you this now Ezra, if we get out of here, you’re a dead man." Buck growled at him.
"What did I do?" Ezra knew but he had to pretend he was innocent.
"For introducing me to that amazing woman of yours."
"I think you'll find that's the other way around Mr Wilmington." Gertrude spoke as she entered the cave.
"You see, Ezra here," she knelt down in front of him, "is mine do with what I please."
"I'm dinner aren't I?" Ezra stared into the face that had become his nightmare.
"You wish. He's dinner." She smiled and nodded towards Buck.
"Then he's dessert?" Buck asked.
"If he's lucky." Gertrude answered.
"Lucky?" Ezra managed to raise an eyebrow, he was being quite brave considering the circumstances. He was injured and was being held in a cave with Buck Wilmington by creatures that were supposed to be Werewolfs and he was going to be dessert if he was lucky. "And if I'm not?"
"Then you'll be my mate." she informed him.
Ezra looked at Buck. Buck looked at Ezra. "I have enough mates already thank you." Ezra hoped she was referring to the Australian term for friendship.
"I don't mean friend." The smile dropped from her face.
Both men were grateful for small mercies. "Then what do you mean?" Ezra didn't really want to know.
"You are going to be the father of my children." The smile returned. Both men grimaced at the sight.
"I'm sterile." Ezra blurted out.
Gertrude looked from the handsome face of Ezra Standish to Buck Wilmington then back again. Both men were good looking but she considered Ezra to have something more. Maybe it was the intense green eyes, or the dimples that filled his cheeks when he smiled, it could be the different facial expressions that he was capable of producing. She looked towards Buck once more. Maybe she just didn't like facial hair.
"Is he always like this?" she asked Buck.
"'Fraid so. He wouldn't make a very good husband." Buck tried to smile, he wasn't being as stupid as Ezra. For some reason the man just had to push his enemy as far as he could. He knew it would end with Ezra getting hurt again.
"I'm gay." Ezra added. He had to come up with something to change her mind. He'd rather be dessert.
"I'm glad it makes you happy Ezra." She returned the sarcasm. "Now that we have that sorted out, when
would you like to start?"
Ezra was dumbfounded and horror shocked. He also hoped he was speechless. "I've had a vasectomy."
"You don't want to piss her off Ezra!" Buck warned him.
"So you don't want to do this?" Gertrude was calm.
"No."
Gertrude pounced on her victim, she took Buck's left arm and without any effort, she broke both bones in his forearm. His scream of agony echoed in Ezra's mind. It was over in a split second, Ezra hadn't seen anything move so fast before. Gertrude sat back on her heels, Ezra was glad she had changed into a pair of trousers. His green eyes turned to look at Buck. His features were contorted in pain. Ezra felt a hand grip his chin and turned his head away from his friend.
"There are two hundred and four bones left unharmed. I can continue breaking them until you agree to your fate." The smile she gave Ezra was an evil glare.
"I guess I don't have a choice." Ezra glared back at her but his angry expression didn't hold up against hers.
"Good, we can start tomorrow night."
"You'll have to do all the work. I'm afraid I have a couple of broken ribs." Ezra explained.
Gertrude released his chin and Ezra immediately turned back to Buck. "Stupid question but are you okay?"
"Sure, just a broken arm, could be worse, I could have broken a finger nail." Buck scowled at him.
"How bad are you hurt?" Gertrude now ignored Buck.
"You broke my arm." Buck told her.
She clenched her hand and struck Buck across the jaw. He collapsed to the ground and didn't get up. She had sent him into oblivion. "I wasn't talking to you."
Tomorrow night, it meant they had some time to come up with a plan, maybe she may even wait until his broken bones healed.
"Well?"
"Broken ribs, dislocated shoulder and a bump on the head." Ezra listed his injuries, he hoped she didn't add to them.
"Which shoulder?"
"Left sho . . ." Ezra also screamed as the pain tore through him. Gertrude had easily manipulated the shoulder back into place before he realised what was happening.
"Sorry I can't do much about your ribs." Gertrude placed her hand against Ezra's face and gripped it painfully when he tried to move away from her. "Where does your head hurt sweetie?"
"I'm not your sweetie and it hurts all over."
She kissed his forehead. Ezra tried to moved away again, it wasn't as easy as it had been the day before in the Johnson home. Her thumbnail drew blood as she squeezed harder. He had no choice, he couldn't move his head. Gertrude followed Ezra's hairline until she reached the swollen area on the side of his skull. She enjoyed the gasp of pain that was released from her soon to be lover.
"I'll be back in a moment Ezra, there is something I must do." she released her hold on him.
"Don't plan on going anywhere just yet." Ezra grimaced at her.
She slapped his good arm. "My, you do have a sense of humor don't you sweetie."
"I try my best." Ezra agreed with her.
"Yeah you do don't you. Why don't I take care of my business here and you can watch." Gertrude stood up.
"It might slow your mouth down a bit."
Gertrude turned and move stealthily towards the creature that was still guarding the cave opening. "Bring me the one who did this to him." The creature obeyed without hesitation.
Ezra began to feel the fear that started at the pit of his stomach and worked it's way up to his chest. It tightened within itself making it harder for him to breath. He looked at Buck. He didn't want to be the only one to see what was about to happen. He knew Gertrude was going to do something and it wasn't going to be nice. Even she would know that it would take a lot to slow his mouth down. Even with a gun pointed at his head, he would say something that would anger the gun holder. He didn't know why he was still alive. He nudged Buck with his good arm. If someone else saw, the vision then he may be able to talk about it with them instead of keeping to himself as he always seemed to do. If someone else witnessed it then they would find it easier to force him to talk about it. It would be one less nightmare that he would have to suffer. As it was, there were too many to count.
Ezra turned quickly at the sound of terrified screeching. It sounded like an animal in pain. Idiot, of course, it's an animal in pain he told himself. It seemed like minutes had passed it had only been seconds when the creature was dragged into the cave. Two other creatures were holding an arm each, well what Ezra thought were arms. Somehow, Ezra recognised it as being the one that threw him off the roof of the van. He wanted to turn away when the animal's bladder let go of the urine it was been retaining. But his eyes continued to stare at the scene before him. He wanted to vomit when the stench reached him.
Gertrude stood over the animal after it had been forced to it's knees. Whimpering sounds escaped the cowering creature. Gertrude didn't speak to it. Ezra watched as she held up her right hand, the fear grew within him as the hand changed to a claw. The rest of the body remained as Gertrude Johnson but the hand now belonged to a wolf. The nails were no longer human, they were long and sharp. The claw moved quick as it slashed open the throat of the animal that had been begging for it's life. Ezra knew if he had blinked, he would have missed it, that's how quickly she had killed it. The creature was lying on the ground. Gertrude sat down on her heels and leaned forward. She began to drink the blood and eat the flesh of the still warm creature. Ezra did vomit this time, he leaned to his left away from Buck and emptied his stomach. He'd seen death before but this was different. It wasn't human. He wiped his mouth as he looked back at the vivid scene before him. He didn't want to but he couldn't stop himself.
Gertrude stood up and walked back to Ezra. She sat down in front of him. Her eyes drifted towards the vomit that sat in a small pile next to him. She leaned over him and began to eat it. Ezra tore his face away. He had seen dogs do this, eat their own vomit, he didn't expect Gertrude to eat his own but then again she'd just fed on the animal she'd killed. What could be so different between the two meals. Maybe his vomit was dessert. All of sudden he was grateful that Buck hadn't witnessed it. It was worse than unpleasant.
"Your mouth slowed down has it?" She asked him after she'd finished. She licked the leftovers off her lips.
Ezra could see the fanged teeth that were now covered in blood. "Uh . . . yeah."
Gertrude smiled. "Get some rest Ezra, you're gonna need it tomorrow night. I have quite an appetite you know."
Ezra refused to say anything or make any movement. His green eyes followed her as she stood up and walked away from him. He sighed in relief when she disappeared from his sight. He looked down at Buck who still hadn't moved. Ezra leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He needed to think, he had to plan a way to get out of here before Buck became dinner and he became a father. He shuddered at the thought.
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Ezra ran as fast as his exhausted legs would carry him, he had to get away, if he didn't he would die, he knew it. He didn't dare look back over his shoulder, if he did, he would fall over just like they did in the movies. He knew they were watching him, he wasn't sure if they could hurt him or not but he knew the people chasing him could. They had done that already. They had also played with his mind, that's why he could see them. He continued to run as the sweat trickled down his face. He could feel his heart pounding in fear. He was beginning to have second thoughts about his job.
Ezra stopped when he saw one of them in front of him. The child would have been about nine years old, he had no idea that his age would be now if he'd lived. The child only wore his trousers and boots, the deep cuts that lined his chest and stomach still bled. Ezra pulled his gaze up to the angelic face that was pale from blood loss, he turned when he heard the voices behind him. He had to keep going. He wasn't going to run towards the dead child so he changed direction. Another one stood before him. This one was a girl. Her blond hair was tied back in a ponytail. The white dress that she wore was stained with her blood. It continued to drip from the hemline onto her pretty shoes.
He'd never believed in ghosts, as far as he was concerned they didn't exist. It was the potion they had made him drink that was causing him to see the murder victims of the people that chased him. Human monsters that took the lives of innocent children. He had gone undercover to infiltrate the cult, he had found more than was expected. They were meant to only rescue a child of an important government official. Ezra had uncovered a cult that sacrificed children. But the children weren't their own, they kidnap ones that they thought would please their God.
Ezra had seen the kidnapped child arrive, he knew what was going to happen to the eight-year-old girl. He wouldn't allow it. He'd helped her escape, he was going to follow her but he'd been caught. He they figured the best way to punish him would be to make him see the children they had murdered. He was wrong, the potion was going to kill him unless he seeked medical attention. He didn't realise the children were there to help him.
The victims must have known Ezra's fear. They didn't point in the direction that he should go, they feared that he would ignore him and go the other way so they stood in his way knowing he would turn away from them. This way they knew he would soon meet the friends that were looking for him and the chance of an antidote for the poison he had been given by the leader of the occult. Ezra ran. He did what he feared most, he tripped over a protruding branch. He yelled out when a hand grabbed his shoulder.
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The touch tore him from his nightmare into a nightmare of reality. He groaned and looked at the reason for his awakening. Buck still sat next to him, his left arm was cradled in his lap. The pain that he was feeling was written all over his face. But the concern he felt for his Southern friend was showing through the pain. No words were spoken. There was nothing to say, each were suffering their own pain and torment. They could see it in each others faces.
Buck looked around his prison trying to find some means of escape, his brown eyes rested on the fresh kill that now lay in the corner of the cave. "What's that?"
"Breakfast." Ezra answered without looking at it.
"Is that how I'm going to end up if we don't get out of here?" Buck wondered out loud.
"I'll swap places with you." Ezra suggested.
"Rather be dinner." Buck grunted. "Think you could run if we managed to get out of here?"
Ezra remembered his dream. "Nothing wrong with my legs. Do you have a plan?"
"Working on it." Buck told him.
"Perhaps you could work a bit faster." He turned to Buck. "Do you know how to find your way out of here?"
"Think so." Buck smiled at him.
"Well then I suggest you work on remembering how to get out of here and I'll work on the plan." Ezra retorted.
Buck continued to watch Ezra after his gaze moved away from him. He had seen something in his friend's eyes. Fear. He had never seen it before. "Did you see it happen?"
"See what?"
"Breakfast."
"No." Ezra lied.
He had hoped before that Buck could watch with him, then he could talk about it afterwards if they survived but Buck didn't see it. Only he did. He knew that being the only witness would cause him to lie about it, refuse to talk about it. It was his way. It was the way his mother had taught him. He loved his mother in his own way, he just wished she had brought him up the same way that normal mothers brought up their children.
"Want to talk about it?"
"Talk about what?"
"What's been bothering you lately." Buck reminded him.
"It would be futile to talk about anything now. Remember our fate. We should be thinking of a way to get out of here. There isn't time to talk about my problems."
"So there is a problem then. Well if we manage to get out of here alive, we can talk about it while we're recuperating." Buck had won that point. He was quite pleased with himself.
"I will be requesting separate rooms." Ezra told him.
The statement didn't deflate Buck's ego. It wasn't often that you could win when you played against Ezra. If they survived, he would also be telling the others about his victory. And he still had to repay him for Gertrude. If they survived.
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SPI Equipment Van - Friday, 6:08am
The van was filled with a heavy silence. Each man sat with his own thoughts and fears. They hoped to find their two missing friends but reality told them they wouldn't. But if they did, they would find two bodies that had been ripped apart. Their blood would have flowed from their arteries and soaked into the ground in the same way that Mortimor Johnson's had. The bodies would then be transferred to the coroner's office, their friends would be cut open even though they knew what had killed them. The bodies would be accompanied back to Denver where a small funeral would be held. Ezra's mother would have to be contacted. None of them would want to deal with her. She would blame Chris for her son's death. He was the man responsible for recruiting him into the team. He didn't need her to blame him, he would do that himself.
"Let's go!" Chris ordered the remaining members of SPIT7.
They were going to split up into two groups. Chris and Vin would work their way from the van where Ezra disappeared. Nathan, Josiah and JD were going to make their way to the Johnson home and start out from the area where they found Buck's gun. The rest of the search party wasn't going to arrive until nine but the friends of the two missing men weren't willing to wait. If a miracle was to occur and the two men were still alive, they wanted to find them before that miracle was shattered. Each SPI member carried a motion detector, heat scanner, radio and mobile phone. They also carried water but no food, they weren't hungry. Nathan carried a first aid kit, he hoped he would need it, if he did then they would still be alive.
Chris led them from the van out into the fading darkness. There was no indication of the attack they had suffered the night before where one of his men had been taken. The woods echoed the sound of birds chirping which a complete contradiction to the silence of the night was before. He stopped at the back of the van where Vin joined him. They both nodded to the other three men who returned the acknowledgement. They weren't returning until they either found Buck, Ezra and Gertrude or when the darkness of night began to fall. Chris wouldn't risk losing another friend.
Vin walked silently beside his close friend. He held the heat monitor because he knew Chris was carrying the motion detector. Anything that moved would be investigated. Each time their hope was going to grow until they discovered that it wasn't what they were looking for. They had accepted Buck and Ezra's fate. They were dead, they were sure of that but they couldn't understand why they had taken the bodies. Neither man wanted to think of why the bodies were kept. They were reminded of dogs and how they would bury their food then come back for it at another time.
Chris watched the monitor as the other three members of his team disappeared from the motion detector. He was finding it hard to concentrate. All he could think of was Buck and Ezra. Even though he knew they were dead, he hoped otherwise. The thought of their deaths continued to torment him. Had they died in pain like his wife and son or was it quick and painless? He silently prayed for the latter. He didn't think he could cope if their lives ended with so much pain. No one should leave this world in such a way.
The two continued to move forward side by side. Vin wanted to talk to his friend but he didn't know what to say. He knew their leader would already be mourning the deaths of Ezra and Buck. He wondered if he was going to cope the same way that he did when his family died. He'd need help to get through it again but this time it would be a lot harder to bring him back from the brink of death. He also knew that JD was going take Buck's death hard, they were like brothers. Vin wondered if SPIT7 would break up and go their own way now that two of it's members were now permanently missing.
Vin pushed the thoughts aside, he no longer wanted to struggle against the thought that his two friends were dead. He had gotten on well with Buck from the beginning. The ladies man was easy going, quick to laugh and constantly pulled pranks on the other members of the team with his partner in crime; JD Dunne. He was yet to pay them back for the naked pictures of himself that had been sent to the entire woman who worked with SPI. Vin knew that it wasn't his body but it had been a very good resemblance although the likeness had deteriorated where it mattered.
Ezra though, was a different matter altogether. He was hard to approach, he seemed unfriendly and kept to himself most of the time. Vin and the others soon broke through the information that had hindered their investigation into why the Southerner pushed them away. It was to protect himself against harm, both physically and emotionally. They had accepted that and treated him normally as though he had been a friend they had known for years. Ezra hadn't liked it but they could see the friendship they gave him begin to chip away at his protective coating.
"Got something." Chris pulled him from his thoughts.
"Already?" Vin looked at his watch and was surprised to find that four hours had passed. "Where?" he corrected his question.
"Two hundred metres in front of us."
Vin aimed the heat monitor in the direction Chris had motioned to with the detector he was using to find his missing friends. "There's a heat source."
"We move forward slowly." Chris ordered him but he knew Vin was already aware of the need to be careful.
But he needed to hear their own voices. It kept him calm and in control. He removed his gun from his shoulder holster. He hadn't bothered replacing the bullets with silver ones. When he shot the creatures that had attacked him they had fallen then stayed down. They hadn't gotten back up. He knew they were no longer there, their fellow creatures had taken them away; no doubt to have them for dinner.
"One fifty, it hasn't moved much. Surprised I'm still picking it up."
"Heat source is still strong." Vin wanted to ask him if he thought it might be Buck or Ezra. Maybe it was Gertrude Johnson. But he didn't. Chris' hope would have already started to grow, he didn't want to add to it. He had a hard enough time keeping his own hope down to a minimal amount.
Chris no longer spoke, he used his left hand to indicate that they were now one hundred metres from the source of movement. He then pointed to his nose and a direction, which would lead them away from the moving form. Vin understood. Chris wanted to get down wind of the figure and approach it that way. They couldn't take the chance in case it was a Werewolf. He hated using that term but what else could they be. Some of them looked more human than animal. But if they were out of folklore then they would be human during the day and will be continuing with their normal lives. If that was the case then they wouldn't have to worry about running into them. They couldn't take the chance. They had to be prepared for them and stay prepared.
They changed direction and began to move through the trees to what they hoped would be Ezra or Buck. Even Gertrude Johnson would be a welcome sight. She might be able to lead them to Buck or Ezra, that was if she was still alive. But she would have to be, there was a heat source. Unless her heat had changed to the coldness of death. That would mean the heat could be coming from either on of their friends or one of the creatures.
Chris indicated fifty metres and pointed to a group of trees close to them. The fact the source of movement was still there meant that it wasn't aware of it's trackers. Vin put his equipment away and instead pointed his weapon in the direction of the hunted. He began to lead the way. He stepped over branches without looking down at the ground. He would take a breath, hold it for as long as he could then let it out slowly.
He held his hand up, waited for Chris to stop next to him then crouched down onto his heels. Whatever it was, was right in front of them in the bushes. Neither man was stupid enough to go rushing in, they weren't willing to commit suicide. They would wait until whatever it was to make themselves known to them. Each of them hoped the wind didn't change direction.
It was only a few minutes before the hidden figure showed itself. It was one of the creatures, a Werewolf. Blood covered it's jaw. It had been feeding, the question was; what was it feeding on? They didn't want to know but they had to find out. The creature began to move away from them. They followed. Chris decided he would be the one to check the corpse, he didn't want Vin to suffer the same nightmares if it did turn out to be one of their missing friends.
He walked in front of Vin with his gun at the ready. He reached the thick bush but didn't go into it. He could smell the fresh odor of death. He held his breath and his eyes search for what he didn't want to see. Then it was there in front of him, a body but the corpse didn't belong to one of the two men they were looking for. He was grateful but at the same time, he felt sympathy for the man's family. He turned and shook his head at Vin. He holstered his gun and placed the motion detector back into his shaking hand. He took a deep breath then took the lead while Vin protected his back.
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He was dreaming again, he knew it but he couldn't wake himself up to end the nightmare and even if he did there was another nightmare waiting for him. But at least he wasn't alone this time, there was someone else suffering with him. He was still running from people who wanted to kill him, Buck was beside him. There was something else different this time. There was a new horror in the woods, he could sense it. A nightmare within a nightmare. He didn't think he could cope if he kept suffering from these. Maybe he should go and see a professional about it. What the hell was he thinking, he couldn't go outside SPI, and no one would believe him. If he saw the SPI shrink then Chris Larabee would find out about it. Why was he even thinking about that when he was in the middle of a dream. He realised he must be a sick man. He groaned as the image appeared before him. This time it wasn't the children the occult had murdered, it was a Werewolf.
Ezra stopped but he wasn't quick enough to stop Buck from getting closer to the creature. He yelled at him to stop but for some reason he didn't listen to him.
Buck continued on until the claws of the Werewolf stopped him. The sharp nails slashed through his throat while another opened his stomach. Ezra watched as Buck turned to him, his friend's life was flowing from his body. He opened his mouth to scream but he was grabbed from behind and spun around to face Gertrude Johnson. Ezra knew that he was no longer dreaming. He had died and was now in hell. He began to fight for his life, as meaningless as it was, so he thought. A scream pulled him from his horror, he'd thought it was his own but it reoccurred and he recognised the voice as Buck’s.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three
Master Fan Fiction List
Rating: PG
Fandom: The Magnificent Seven
AU: Scientific Paranormal Investigations
Main Characters: Ezra, Buck and the rest.
Summary: The team investigate after a death is reported in Lufkin, Texas where the locals claim a Werewolf was the culprit.
Disclaimers: The guys are owned by CBS, MGM, Trilogy Entertainment Group, and The Mirisch Corp.
Spoilers: None
Status: Complete
Total Word Count: 30,509
Ezra had begun counting backwards from forty so he would know exactly when JD was going to turn the lights on. He hoped the distraction they were about to make and his own gunfire would distract the creatures long enough for the others to make it back to the van. Once inside they would be safe. None of them would be out of danger but at least they would no longer be separated. He had only counted ten seconds when gunfire erupted from the woods. He could see the flashes that went with the sound. He silently wished that time would hurry. He continued to count. Only five seconds to go. Everything went silent.
"Shit!" Ezra swore. "Damn you Standish if you’re too late."
The lights went on and Ezra stood up. He quickly glanced around at the creatures that surrounded the van and stood at the edge of the tree outline. He began to fire at them. He didn't care at the moment if he wounded them, killed them or just missed. He needed a clear path for the others so they could hightail it the van. JD would be ready to let them in and all he had to do was to climb back into the van. Then they would need another plan.
The creatures scattered. Some ran behind the van while the others made for the trees. He managed to force two of them off their feet. Ezra ignored the human features and concentrated on what he was doing. He turned around constantly so they couldn't sneak up on him. He saw movement in the trees. It was the others. Ezra heard a noise behind him. He turned just in time to see one of the creatures coming at him.
His only thought was, where the hell did that come from. He pulled the trigger and heard the creature cry out in pain but it didn't stop it's forward momentum. Ezra expected to die. The creature's hand gripped his throat as it pulled the gun from his hand. Ezra could smell the feted breath, he tried to turn his head away and lift the other hand that held a second gun but before he could use it against his assailant, he was thrown from the roof of the van.
The ex-criminal hit the base of a tree with a solid force. The breath had been forced from his lungs. A ringing sounded in his ears and his vision blurred. He felt the pain erupt in his side as he tried to move. A new noise overtook his senses, the breathing of an angry animal. He lifted his head and stared into the dark eyes of what people in Lufkin had begun to call a Werewolf. He saw the large claw as it came towards him. It slammed against the side of his head knocking him into unconsciousness. He didn't feel the branches or stones as they tore at him while he was being dragged to an unknown destination.
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"Thank you Ezra." Chris muttered as he fired at the creatures that had managed to surround them. He could hear the gunfire that came from the van. He knew it had to be Ezra because the Southerner wouldn't allow JD to take such risks. The man didn't seem to care about risking his own life but he had a problem allowing others to risk theirs. It was as though he didn't think his life was as important as everyone else's.
"There's nothing in front of us!" Josiah yelled.
"Then let's get going before those lights go out." Chris ordered them.
Four men ran towards the van that was illuminated by bright lights. They could see the human like animals standing back. Their growls of anger reached the ears of the humans causing the hairs on the back of their necks to rise. As they got closer to safety, the animals moved towards them. Chris opened fire hoping to get them to move back to a safe distance. They didn't, the so-called Werewolfs continued to move closer. Chris started to believe they weren't going to make it. Just as the lights had appeared without warning so did the music.
Chris always complained about JD's taste in music but he was willing to hear it now. The humans that looked more like animals screeched in horror as the noise nearly burst their sensitive eardrums. JD's favorite band 'The Offspring' had never sounded so good. The heavy guitar and drum sound echoed around the van. Chris ran even faster than he thought he could. The others were right behind him. The door to the van opened in front of him. He didn't stop, he entered the van then made room for the others. Once everyone had made it inside the door was closed and locked.
"JD! Turn that god damn music off!" Vin yelled at him then smiled in gratitude.
"Now that was close." Josiah muttered after the music faded away.
"It's not over yet." Chris told him. "JD, where's Ezra?"
"He's on the roof." JD looked up. He'd been worried about Ezra. The gunfire from the top of the van had stopped, he'd heard nothing since. "But he hasn't made any noise for a couple of minutes."
Chris frowned and allowed Vin to rush to the emergency exit in the roof. He helped the lighter man up onto the roof then heard a groan and a curse erupt from the security man.
"He's not here." Vin poked his head down into the opening and handed Chris the gun he found on the roof. Vin followed it inside.
"SHIT!" Chris yelled at no one in particular. "That stubborn bastard is going to get himself killed taking risks like this." he began to pace the small area. "Damn it! JD, let Buck know what's happening, he was bound to hear the gunfire. Tell him to stay put. Then we start looking for Ezra."
"What if he's close by?" Vin asked him. "We have to look for him now."
"If we go out there now Vin, we'll all be dead within minutes. There is too many of them."
"Where did they all come from. And if there are so many how come only one of them has been seen?"
Nathan asked the silence that now filled the van.
"I don't know but we're going to find out after we find Ezra." Chris growled.
"Chris." JD waited until the man he respected turned around. "Ezra was just trying to help you guys get back without being hurt."
"I know JD. I just wish . . . aw hell JD I know that. I just don't want him to give his life away so easily. His worth more than he thinks he is. Why he thinks he should die instead of one of us I don't know." Chris patted his shoulder. "Go and call Buck."
"He's not dead." JD told him.
"I know JD." But Chris didn't. Why would they allow Ezra to live. There was no reason. He knew they would be looking for a dead Southerner.
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Buck had wanted to charge down the long driveway towards the sound of gunshots. If he'd only heard, one or two then he knew things were okay. But there had been more than a dozen shots fired. That meant trouble. It meant that one of the others may be hurt or even dead. He knew he couldn't leave Gertrude alone. He hoped that Ezra was fine because he was going to make the ex-criminal a dead man. He was looking forward to getting Ezra and Gertrude alone. Photos would be taken and pinned up on the notice board at the office and posted on the Internet for all the other SPI members to see.
He waited while Gertrude baked. The silence that came from the outside would was deafening. He hated this waiting part of the job. He was an electronics expert. He should be in the van with the others, not here baby-sitting . . . godzilla in a short skirt. He had nothing against overweight woman. He loved all women, well he thought he did until he met Gertrude. It was her personality that was ugly. Buck didn't judge woman on their looks, he judged them by their personality. He'd learnt by experience but the woman who had taught him that had died when she tried to protect him. She had given her life for him.
He shook the memory from his mind. He had more important things to think about. He checked his gun again then held it in his hand instead of putting it away. The mobile in his jacket pocket began to ring. He answered and listened to JD's voice. He sighed in relief, at least he knew JD was alright. He swore when he heard the news about Ezra.
"Thanks for letting me know JD . . . yeah I'll stay here . . . let me know if you find Ezra," he paused, "dead or alive." he hung up and put the phone back into his jacket pocket.
"NOT EZRA!" Gertrude screamed. "Don't tell me something's happened to my Ezra!"
Buck tried to ignore her as he made his way to the front door to check the outside area. A small part of him hoped that he would see Ezra walking towards the front door. She followed him.
"Tell me Ezra's okay." Gertrude was actually crying over a man she'd met once for about ten minutes. "He can't be dead. Not my Ezra!" she wailed.
"I'm sure he's okay." Buck attempted to calm her down.
"But the man on the radio said he was gone." She openly wept for the Southerner.
"He'll be fine. Ezra always is."
"I want to find Ezra." she pulled at Buck's jacket.
"You can't Mrs Johnson. It's too dangerous out there at night. We might have to wait till daylight."
"Humph! You just don't want me to find him. You’re jealous because I love Ezra and not you."
Buck groaned. He was dealing with a fifteen year old that was suffering from her first true love. "What if he comes here to you and you’re not here?"
"You think he might come here to me?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm staying right here to wait for him." Gertrude walked back into her living room.
For a brief moment, he actually felt sorry for Ezra. But the feeling only lasted a moment. Worry took control of his mind. He didn't think that Ezra was going to be okay. How could he be? But then again if the others survived . . . no the others had been in a group, they were able to protect each other. JD said Ezra had been alone on the roof of the van. The crazy Southerner took too many risks. They were going to have to do something about that if he was still alive. He had to be. He was only just beginning to accept the others as family. They couldn't lose him now. His eyes continued to scan the woods. He saw movement and held his breath. It was a wolf, it stood on it's four legs staring at the house. Buck frowned, it was as though it was watching them. He let go of the breath he was holding when the wolf turned around and began to walk back towards the trees. He swore when it stood up on it's hind legs and continued to walk until it disappeared from his sight.
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"How long are we going to wait?" Josiah demanded to know. "What if he's hurt?"
"I told you, if we go out there now, then someone else will get hurt. I won't allow that to happen." Chris told him. He wanted more than anything to open the door and step out into the night to look for the seventh member of his team. But he knew it would be futile. They would have to wait till daylight.
"We could at least go onto the roof with a torch and look around the immediate area." Vin grabbed a torch without waiting for an answer.
"I'm coming with you." Josiah took another torch and followed his friend up onto the roof.
Chris didn't argue, he was about to do the same thing himself.
"What if one of them bit him?" JD asked from his seat in the corner.
"What are you talking about JD?" Nathan asked him.
"What if they are Werewolfs. You know the folklore. If you get bitten by one and you live, then you become one of them." JD explained.
"I don't believe that." Chris turned away from them. "This is reality. They can be killed and Ezra won't become one of them. If he's alive, we'll get him back. Ezra has my word on that."
"If we can find him." JD spoke the words that had filled them with dread.
What if they couldn't find him? If he was still alive then what was he going through. Was he hiding somewhere or was he being kept a prisoner? Was he in pain? Were they causing him pain? No one wanted to have these thoughts but they couldn't help it. They were worried sick about the ex-criminal who had become part of their small family whether he knew it or not.
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Gertrude Johnson, widow and pastry cook waited in her kitchen for news on Ezra Standish. She had overheard that he had been taken by the creatures that roamed the woodland around her home. She had been baking all afternoon in anticipation of his arrival. Pumpkin pies, blue berry pies, chocolate cakes and chocolate chip muffins lined the counters of the large spacious kitchen. Her blue eyes moved towards the back door when she heard a noise. She looked over her shoulder and wondered if the SPI man had heard it. When he didn't come running through the door she knew he hadn't.
She silently moved to the back door and opened it. Nothing jumped out at her, the night was still and silent. She smiled and stepped out into the back yard. Her feet were bare and she reveled in the feel of the grass under her feet. There was movement beside her and she turned quickly towards it, quicker than someone would think she was capable of doing. A creature stood before her. It bowed then waited for her instructions.
"I understand you have him." Gertrude spoke with authority. The animal nodded in agreement. "Is he hurt?" The creature bowed again instead of answering her question. "Answer me!" The animal nodded again. "Go back to him, look after him until I get there." She turned around again to find another standing before her.
"What the hell are you?" Buck Wilmington stood poised ready to fire at what he thought was a human that may turn out to be something else.
"Take him!" It was an order given to the creatures she knew would be there to protect her.
Buck heard the two words and began to pull the trigger but something slamming into his side and knocking him to the ground stopped the gun from firing. It fell from his hand when he hit the hard earth beneath him. He reached for the fallen gun but a clawed hand grabbed his and turned him over onto his back. Buck stared up at a wolf like face, the fangs were large and stained.
"Don't kill him! I can use him to convince Ezra to accept his fate." Gertrude smiled. "He has a mobile phone, get rid of it then take him home. I will be there shortly."
Buck was lifted up to his feet, he was search roughly and when the phone was discovered, it was broken beneath a clawed foot. He was then pulled towards the woods. He struggled within the strong grips but he couldn't free himself. His only thought was that Ezra was still alive but hurt. At least the Southerner will no longer be alone. Maybe together they would be able to find a way to escape.
________________________________________
A Cave in Lufkin Woods - Friday, 2:16am
The memory of what happened flashed through his mind. He wanted to shut them out but they wouldn't leave him alone, they mixed with the memories of their previous case. He could hear ragged breathing and movement around him. He refused to open his eyes to see what it was because he already knew. It hadn't killed him, it had taken him somewhere. He thought life had sucked before but now he had been sucked down the drain into the sewer. He was starting to have second thoughts about this job.
Something hit his shoulder and he cried out in pain. He had to, the pain was too much. He knew his left shoulder was dislocated. It always seemed to happen. These days he only had to bump it and the shoulder joint would pop out. He was going to suffer a lot of pain when he reached old age. If he reached old age. Whatever hit him the first time, hit him again but on a different part of his body. It was as though it didn't want to hurt him again. It grunted at him. He could sense the anger the animal was emitting. He had no choice. He opened his eyes and flinched back from the sight before him.
The animal was on it's haunches facing it's captive. The teeth were sharp and dirty. The head was that of a wolf but the body was more human. The fur that covered it's face was matted with dry blood. The eyes that stared at him were a pale blue. They were the eyes of a human. The body was bare in patches, the pale skin around the lower abdomen showed an appendix scar. A clawed hand reached forward, it still wore a ring on it's left index finger. It had once been human.
"So much for only existing in a person's imagination." Ezra muttered to himself.
It pushed him. Ezra tried to move away from it but the pain in his side and shoulder kept him from going to far. It pushed him again. Ezra didn't know what it wanted. He didn't move the second time, it pushed him harder. He looked over his shoulder to see where it wanted him to go. He gagged as his eyes drifted over the flesh covered bones that sat in a corner of the cave he now knew he was in. It pushed him again, this time an angry growl accompanied it.
"What!" Ezra Standish growled back. "What the hell do you want me to do?"
It nodded towards the back of the cave and pointed. Ezra followed the clawed hand. His eyes stared at the ring and he wondered who this person once was, what sort of life they led and if there were any family members that were looking for him or her. He looked down. Him. It grunted. Ezra looked in the direction it was pointing. There was bedding against the rock wall, also a bowl. It wanted him to go to it. He didn't, he could smell it from here.
"No." Ezra told it. He waited for the physical blow that would try and convince him to do as he was told. It didn't come, instead the animal grunted again. For some reason Ezra was sure it was calling him a stubborn bastard. It moved away from him and sat at the entrance of the opening that led into the small cave. He could see the darkness that was present outside the entrance but he knew the blackness was created by rock walls, he was in a cavern, and there must have been dozens of small caves here. It must be were the creatures are hiding, it explained why they were never found.
Now that he was being left alone, Ezra took the time to check his injuries. There was nothing he could do about his shoulder or injured ribs. In fact, there was nothing he could do. He knew he also had a head injury but didn't think it was that bad, his body took most of the impact when he had been thrown from the van. He had been grateful he didn't hit the tree head first, now as he looked around at his prison he wasn't so sure that death would be better than this.
There were rotting corpses of small animals lying around the dirt floor of the cave. He suddenly wondered if he was being saved for dinner. He tried to swallow but his mouth had suddenly gone dry. He had to find a way to get away. There was only one guarding him, he had to escape before more came. He tried to sit up but the pain caused him to fall back down again. Escaping was going to be harder than he thought. Maybe someone would come to his rescue. He didn't believe that. These creatures hadn't been found yet, he didn't think they would be found now just because they had him. Even with the SPI equipment that was available to Chris and the others it would take too long to find him and by the time they did, he would be part of the bone collection in the corner.
He closed his eyes and tried to hide the images that were scattered around the cave. If he survived this, he was going to have a few nightmares. He'd rather have nightmares than become their dinner. He didn't want to lie in the middle of their leftovers. There was a clear area to his left, he wanted to go there so he could lean against the wall and brought his knees up to his chest, he couldn't though, and it would hurt too much. He would also be able to watch the caves opening without becoming suspicious. He didn't know how much intelligence the creatures had but he wasn't willing to take a chance to find out.
He knew he was incapable of sitting up, he would have to crawl to his destination. He pulled with his right arm and pushed with his legs. They were the only parts of his body that didn't hurt. It took him a while but he managed it. He laid down on his right side, his left shoulder hung at an awkward angle. His ribs hurt and his head hurt. What he needed was a painkiller, not that he could get one here. He could see that the creature had watched his movements, it seemed to be laughing at him. It looked away when it heard a sound in the distance. Ezra hadn't heard anything. It was another fifteen minutes before he saw what the creature had heard. Buck Wilmington was pushed onto the floor of the cave in front of his feet.
"Glad you could join me Buck." The relief he felt sounded in his voice.
"And I'm glad to join you Ezra." Buck smiled but his features became full of concern at the sight of Ezra's appearance. "You okay?"
"Parts of me are and other parts aren't." Ezra didn't make any effort to sit up.
Buck did, he moved to sit next to Ezra. "Where does it hurt?"
"My left side where I hit the tree." Ezra grimaced at the thought.
"You hit a tree?"
"It threw me at a tree, I couldn't avoid the collision." Ezra replied.
"Oh by the way, that amazing woman you told me about," Buck reminded him, "she's a lot worse than you thought."
________________________________________
"Try him again." Chris ordered JD.
JD's concerned brown eyes turned back to his mobile, he'd been trying to contact Buck for thirty minutes without a satisfying result. The electronics expert still failed to answer. JD shook his head at Chris who was beginning to tear his hair out in aggravation. If Chris hadn't seen Gertrude Johnson himself, he would think that Buck was doing something that he shouldn't be doing.
"That's two." Vin commented.
He and Josiah had spent an hour on the roof of the van looking for Ezra. They didn't want to come down until they were sure he wasn't within their reach. They had even contemplated going out on foot to search for him because during the hour their strong torches searched the area they hadn't seen any of the creatures they knew had taken him and now possibly Buck.
"Are we going up there?" JD asked.
"Yes." Chris hung his head in defeat. "Ezra isn't here anymore. We find out what's happened to Buck, if he's in the same predicament as Ezra then we start looking for them at dawn. We'll contact the sheriff and get a search party started."
Chris motioned to Josiah to drive the van up to the Johnson place. His heart was heavy, he couldn't loose one of his friends, let alone two. He didn't know how he would cope if they found them dead or didn't find them at all. He wasn't sure if one of the surviving members would be able to help him recover from the emotional trauma as Buck had done after his wife and son's deaths.
It only took them a couple of minutes to drive to the home of Gertrude Johnson. JD stayed with the equipment to alert them of anyone or anything coming towards the home. He silently hoped that if the monitors did alert him of something that it would be their missing friends. He'd only lost one person to death so far in his life. His mother had died two years ago of Breast Cancer. It hadn't been pleasant for either of them but he hadn't allowed his mother to see how devastated he'd been feeling until after she died. He had to be strong for her, to help her through her time of need. The only thing he was grateful for was the opportunity to spend time with her and tell her how much he loved her and that he would never stop loving her. He didn't say good-bye because he knew she hadn't left him, she was still in his heart and his memory. He thought about her everyday.
Chris motioned for Nathan and Josiah to go around the back and to be careful. He didn't want to lose any more men. He was finding it hard to work knowing that two were already missing, one of them he had known for ten years. He and Vin went through the front door. The house was silent. Chris moved through to the living room, Vin followed closely. They stopped when they heard a door open. They moved silently towards the sound.
They knew it would be Josiah and Nathan but experience told them not to take any risks, they had to make sure first before they made themselves visible to the maker of the sound. Vin glanced quickly around the doorframe. He relaxed his stance and the body movement told Chris that it was okay.
"We found this." Josiah lowered his gun when Vin and Chris made themselves known to them.
"Buck's gun." Chris nodded as he took it from him. "Where was it?"
"Outside, close to the back door. No sign of Buck though." Nathan told him.
"You find anything?" Josiah asked Chris. He could see the worry that was already beginning to show on their leader's face.
"Not yet." Chris turned away from them, he had every intention of searching the rest of the house.
"Any sign of Mrs Johnson?" Vin asked Josiah.
"Gertrude? No."
"Maybe she's gone to find a new decorator." Vin grunted at the sight of the furniture in the living room.
________________________________________
"How can she be any worse Buck." Ezra growled at him.
"She's the leader of this pack." Buck enlightened Ezra to the bad news.
"She's what?!" Ezra looked at the creature that was guarding them when it growled and moved towards him.
"Don't make it angry Ezra." Buck warned him.
Ezra shifted his position and groaned when the pain tore through him. He suddenly felt Buck's hands on him as he lifted him up into a sitting position. He didn't protest or physically try and stop him when he opened up his mid thigh length black leather jacket, but he did grit his teeth together when Buck's fingers pressed against his ribs.
"I'm no Doctor Ezra but I think you might have some busted ribs there."
"I'm no Doctor either and I could have told you that without causing myself extra pain." Ezra retorted.
He felt his head being pulled forward as fingers probed his skull for any breakages in the skin.
"Ouch!" Ezra spat out when Buck pushed against the large lump on the side of his skull. Two fingers appeared in front of his face.
"How many do you see?" Buck asked him as he lifted Ezra's chin up.
"Two. I'm fine Buck, it just hurts that's all."
"Well I'm tellin' you this now Ezra, if we get out of here, you’re a dead man." Buck growled at him.
"What did I do?" Ezra knew but he had to pretend he was innocent.
"For introducing me to that amazing woman of yours."
"I think you'll find that's the other way around Mr Wilmington." Gertrude spoke as she entered the cave.
"You see, Ezra here," she knelt down in front of him, "is mine do with what I please."
"I'm dinner aren't I?" Ezra stared into the face that had become his nightmare.
"You wish. He's dinner." She smiled and nodded towards Buck.
"Then he's dessert?" Buck asked.
"If he's lucky." Gertrude answered.
"Lucky?" Ezra managed to raise an eyebrow, he was being quite brave considering the circumstances. He was injured and was being held in a cave with Buck Wilmington by creatures that were supposed to be Werewolfs and he was going to be dessert if he was lucky. "And if I'm not?"
"Then you'll be my mate." she informed him.
Ezra looked at Buck. Buck looked at Ezra. "I have enough mates already thank you." Ezra hoped she was referring to the Australian term for friendship.
"I don't mean friend." The smile dropped from her face.
Both men were grateful for small mercies. "Then what do you mean?" Ezra didn't really want to know.
"You are going to be the father of my children." The smile returned. Both men grimaced at the sight.
"I'm sterile." Ezra blurted out.
Gertrude looked from the handsome face of Ezra Standish to Buck Wilmington then back again. Both men were good looking but she considered Ezra to have something more. Maybe it was the intense green eyes, or the dimples that filled his cheeks when he smiled, it could be the different facial expressions that he was capable of producing. She looked towards Buck once more. Maybe she just didn't like facial hair.
"Is he always like this?" she asked Buck.
"'Fraid so. He wouldn't make a very good husband." Buck tried to smile, he wasn't being as stupid as Ezra. For some reason the man just had to push his enemy as far as he could. He knew it would end with Ezra getting hurt again.
"I'm gay." Ezra added. He had to come up with something to change her mind. He'd rather be dessert.
"I'm glad it makes you happy Ezra." She returned the sarcasm. "Now that we have that sorted out, when
would you like to start?"
Ezra was dumbfounded and horror shocked. He also hoped he was speechless. "I've had a vasectomy."
"You don't want to piss her off Ezra!" Buck warned him.
"So you don't want to do this?" Gertrude was calm.
"No."
Gertrude pounced on her victim, she took Buck's left arm and without any effort, she broke both bones in his forearm. His scream of agony echoed in Ezra's mind. It was over in a split second, Ezra hadn't seen anything move so fast before. Gertrude sat back on her heels, Ezra was glad she had changed into a pair of trousers. His green eyes turned to look at Buck. His features were contorted in pain. Ezra felt a hand grip his chin and turned his head away from his friend.
"There are two hundred and four bones left unharmed. I can continue breaking them until you agree to your fate." The smile she gave Ezra was an evil glare.
"I guess I don't have a choice." Ezra glared back at her but his angry expression didn't hold up against hers.
"Good, we can start tomorrow night."
"You'll have to do all the work. I'm afraid I have a couple of broken ribs." Ezra explained.
Gertrude released his chin and Ezra immediately turned back to Buck. "Stupid question but are you okay?"
"Sure, just a broken arm, could be worse, I could have broken a finger nail." Buck scowled at him.
"How bad are you hurt?" Gertrude now ignored Buck.
"You broke my arm." Buck told her.
She clenched her hand and struck Buck across the jaw. He collapsed to the ground and didn't get up. She had sent him into oblivion. "I wasn't talking to you."
Tomorrow night, it meant they had some time to come up with a plan, maybe she may even wait until his broken bones healed.
"Well?"
"Broken ribs, dislocated shoulder and a bump on the head." Ezra listed his injuries, he hoped she didn't add to them.
"Which shoulder?"
"Left sho . . ." Ezra also screamed as the pain tore through him. Gertrude had easily manipulated the shoulder back into place before he realised what was happening.
"Sorry I can't do much about your ribs." Gertrude placed her hand against Ezra's face and gripped it painfully when he tried to move away from her. "Where does your head hurt sweetie?"
"I'm not your sweetie and it hurts all over."
She kissed his forehead. Ezra tried to moved away again, it wasn't as easy as it had been the day before in the Johnson home. Her thumbnail drew blood as she squeezed harder. He had no choice, he couldn't move his head. Gertrude followed Ezra's hairline until she reached the swollen area on the side of his skull. She enjoyed the gasp of pain that was released from her soon to be lover.
"I'll be back in a moment Ezra, there is something I must do." she released her hold on him.
"Don't plan on going anywhere just yet." Ezra grimaced at her.
She slapped his good arm. "My, you do have a sense of humor don't you sweetie."
"I try my best." Ezra agreed with her.
"Yeah you do don't you. Why don't I take care of my business here and you can watch." Gertrude stood up.
"It might slow your mouth down a bit."
Gertrude turned and move stealthily towards the creature that was still guarding the cave opening. "Bring me the one who did this to him." The creature obeyed without hesitation.
Ezra began to feel the fear that started at the pit of his stomach and worked it's way up to his chest. It tightened within itself making it harder for him to breath. He looked at Buck. He didn't want to be the only one to see what was about to happen. He knew Gertrude was going to do something and it wasn't going to be nice. Even she would know that it would take a lot to slow his mouth down. Even with a gun pointed at his head, he would say something that would anger the gun holder. He didn't know why he was still alive. He nudged Buck with his good arm. If someone else saw, the vision then he may be able to talk about it with them instead of keeping to himself as he always seemed to do. If someone else witnessed it then they would find it easier to force him to talk about it. It would be one less nightmare that he would have to suffer. As it was, there were too many to count.
Ezra turned quickly at the sound of terrified screeching. It sounded like an animal in pain. Idiot, of course, it's an animal in pain he told himself. It seemed like minutes had passed it had only been seconds when the creature was dragged into the cave. Two other creatures were holding an arm each, well what Ezra thought were arms. Somehow, Ezra recognised it as being the one that threw him off the roof of the van. He wanted to turn away when the animal's bladder let go of the urine it was been retaining. But his eyes continued to stare at the scene before him. He wanted to vomit when the stench reached him.
Gertrude stood over the animal after it had been forced to it's knees. Whimpering sounds escaped the cowering creature. Gertrude didn't speak to it. Ezra watched as she held up her right hand, the fear grew within him as the hand changed to a claw. The rest of the body remained as Gertrude Johnson but the hand now belonged to a wolf. The nails were no longer human, they were long and sharp. The claw moved quick as it slashed open the throat of the animal that had been begging for it's life. Ezra knew if he had blinked, he would have missed it, that's how quickly she had killed it. The creature was lying on the ground. Gertrude sat down on her heels and leaned forward. She began to drink the blood and eat the flesh of the still warm creature. Ezra did vomit this time, he leaned to his left away from Buck and emptied his stomach. He'd seen death before but this was different. It wasn't human. He wiped his mouth as he looked back at the vivid scene before him. He didn't want to but he couldn't stop himself.
Gertrude stood up and walked back to Ezra. She sat down in front of him. Her eyes drifted towards the vomit that sat in a small pile next to him. She leaned over him and began to eat it. Ezra tore his face away. He had seen dogs do this, eat their own vomit, he didn't expect Gertrude to eat his own but then again she'd just fed on the animal she'd killed. What could be so different between the two meals. Maybe his vomit was dessert. All of sudden he was grateful that Buck hadn't witnessed it. It was worse than unpleasant.
"Your mouth slowed down has it?" She asked him after she'd finished. She licked the leftovers off her lips.
Ezra could see the fanged teeth that were now covered in blood. "Uh . . . yeah."
Gertrude smiled. "Get some rest Ezra, you're gonna need it tomorrow night. I have quite an appetite you know."
Ezra refused to say anything or make any movement. His green eyes followed her as she stood up and walked away from him. He sighed in relief when she disappeared from his sight. He looked down at Buck who still hadn't moved. Ezra leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He needed to think, he had to plan a way to get out of here before Buck became dinner and he became a father. He shuddered at the thought.
________________________________________
Ezra ran as fast as his exhausted legs would carry him, he had to get away, if he didn't he would die, he knew it. He didn't dare look back over his shoulder, if he did, he would fall over just like they did in the movies. He knew they were watching him, he wasn't sure if they could hurt him or not but he knew the people chasing him could. They had done that already. They had also played with his mind, that's why he could see them. He continued to run as the sweat trickled down his face. He could feel his heart pounding in fear. He was beginning to have second thoughts about his job.
Ezra stopped when he saw one of them in front of him. The child would have been about nine years old, he had no idea that his age would be now if he'd lived. The child only wore his trousers and boots, the deep cuts that lined his chest and stomach still bled. Ezra pulled his gaze up to the angelic face that was pale from blood loss, he turned when he heard the voices behind him. He had to keep going. He wasn't going to run towards the dead child so he changed direction. Another one stood before him. This one was a girl. Her blond hair was tied back in a ponytail. The white dress that she wore was stained with her blood. It continued to drip from the hemline onto her pretty shoes.
He'd never believed in ghosts, as far as he was concerned they didn't exist. It was the potion they had made him drink that was causing him to see the murder victims of the people that chased him. Human monsters that took the lives of innocent children. He had gone undercover to infiltrate the cult, he had found more than was expected. They were meant to only rescue a child of an important government official. Ezra had uncovered a cult that sacrificed children. But the children weren't their own, they kidnap ones that they thought would please their God.
Ezra had seen the kidnapped child arrive, he knew what was going to happen to the eight-year-old girl. He wouldn't allow it. He'd helped her escape, he was going to follow her but he'd been caught. He they figured the best way to punish him would be to make him see the children they had murdered. He was wrong, the potion was going to kill him unless he seeked medical attention. He didn't realise the children were there to help him.
The victims must have known Ezra's fear. They didn't point in the direction that he should go, they feared that he would ignore him and go the other way so they stood in his way knowing he would turn away from them. This way they knew he would soon meet the friends that were looking for him and the chance of an antidote for the poison he had been given by the leader of the occult. Ezra ran. He did what he feared most, he tripped over a protruding branch. He yelled out when a hand grabbed his shoulder.
________________________________________
The touch tore him from his nightmare into a nightmare of reality. He groaned and looked at the reason for his awakening. Buck still sat next to him, his left arm was cradled in his lap. The pain that he was feeling was written all over his face. But the concern he felt for his Southern friend was showing through the pain. No words were spoken. There was nothing to say, each were suffering their own pain and torment. They could see it in each others faces.
Buck looked around his prison trying to find some means of escape, his brown eyes rested on the fresh kill that now lay in the corner of the cave. "What's that?"
"Breakfast." Ezra answered without looking at it.
"Is that how I'm going to end up if we don't get out of here?" Buck wondered out loud.
"I'll swap places with you." Ezra suggested.
"Rather be dinner." Buck grunted. "Think you could run if we managed to get out of here?"
Ezra remembered his dream. "Nothing wrong with my legs. Do you have a plan?"
"Working on it." Buck told him.
"Perhaps you could work a bit faster." He turned to Buck. "Do you know how to find your way out of here?"
"Think so." Buck smiled at him.
"Well then I suggest you work on remembering how to get out of here and I'll work on the plan." Ezra retorted.
Buck continued to watch Ezra after his gaze moved away from him. He had seen something in his friend's eyes. Fear. He had never seen it before. "Did you see it happen?"
"See what?"
"Breakfast."
"No." Ezra lied.
He had hoped before that Buck could watch with him, then he could talk about it afterwards if they survived but Buck didn't see it. Only he did. He knew that being the only witness would cause him to lie about it, refuse to talk about it. It was his way. It was the way his mother had taught him. He loved his mother in his own way, he just wished she had brought him up the same way that normal mothers brought up their children.
"Want to talk about it?"
"Talk about what?"
"What's been bothering you lately." Buck reminded him.
"It would be futile to talk about anything now. Remember our fate. We should be thinking of a way to get out of here. There isn't time to talk about my problems."
"So there is a problem then. Well if we manage to get out of here alive, we can talk about it while we're recuperating." Buck had won that point. He was quite pleased with himself.
"I will be requesting separate rooms." Ezra told him.
The statement didn't deflate Buck's ego. It wasn't often that you could win when you played against Ezra. If they survived, he would also be telling the others about his victory. And he still had to repay him for Gertrude. If they survived.
________________________________________
SPI Equipment Van - Friday, 6:08am
The van was filled with a heavy silence. Each man sat with his own thoughts and fears. They hoped to find their two missing friends but reality told them they wouldn't. But if they did, they would find two bodies that had been ripped apart. Their blood would have flowed from their arteries and soaked into the ground in the same way that Mortimor Johnson's had. The bodies would then be transferred to the coroner's office, their friends would be cut open even though they knew what had killed them. The bodies would be accompanied back to Denver where a small funeral would be held. Ezra's mother would have to be contacted. None of them would want to deal with her. She would blame Chris for her son's death. He was the man responsible for recruiting him into the team. He didn't need her to blame him, he would do that himself.
"Let's go!" Chris ordered the remaining members of SPIT7.
They were going to split up into two groups. Chris and Vin would work their way from the van where Ezra disappeared. Nathan, Josiah and JD were going to make their way to the Johnson home and start out from the area where they found Buck's gun. The rest of the search party wasn't going to arrive until nine but the friends of the two missing men weren't willing to wait. If a miracle was to occur and the two men were still alive, they wanted to find them before that miracle was shattered. Each SPI member carried a motion detector, heat scanner, radio and mobile phone. They also carried water but no food, they weren't hungry. Nathan carried a first aid kit, he hoped he would need it, if he did then they would still be alive.
Chris led them from the van out into the fading darkness. There was no indication of the attack they had suffered the night before where one of his men had been taken. The woods echoed the sound of birds chirping which a complete contradiction to the silence of the night was before. He stopped at the back of the van where Vin joined him. They both nodded to the other three men who returned the acknowledgement. They weren't returning until they either found Buck, Ezra and Gertrude or when the darkness of night began to fall. Chris wouldn't risk losing another friend.
Vin walked silently beside his close friend. He held the heat monitor because he knew Chris was carrying the motion detector. Anything that moved would be investigated. Each time their hope was going to grow until they discovered that it wasn't what they were looking for. They had accepted Buck and Ezra's fate. They were dead, they were sure of that but they couldn't understand why they had taken the bodies. Neither man wanted to think of why the bodies were kept. They were reminded of dogs and how they would bury their food then come back for it at another time.
Chris watched the monitor as the other three members of his team disappeared from the motion detector. He was finding it hard to concentrate. All he could think of was Buck and Ezra. Even though he knew they were dead, he hoped otherwise. The thought of their deaths continued to torment him. Had they died in pain like his wife and son or was it quick and painless? He silently prayed for the latter. He didn't think he could cope if their lives ended with so much pain. No one should leave this world in such a way.
The two continued to move forward side by side. Vin wanted to talk to his friend but he didn't know what to say. He knew their leader would already be mourning the deaths of Ezra and Buck. He wondered if he was going to cope the same way that he did when his family died. He'd need help to get through it again but this time it would be a lot harder to bring him back from the brink of death. He also knew that JD was going take Buck's death hard, they were like brothers. Vin wondered if SPIT7 would break up and go their own way now that two of it's members were now permanently missing.
Vin pushed the thoughts aside, he no longer wanted to struggle against the thought that his two friends were dead. He had gotten on well with Buck from the beginning. The ladies man was easy going, quick to laugh and constantly pulled pranks on the other members of the team with his partner in crime; JD Dunne. He was yet to pay them back for the naked pictures of himself that had been sent to the entire woman who worked with SPI. Vin knew that it wasn't his body but it had been a very good resemblance although the likeness had deteriorated where it mattered.
Ezra though, was a different matter altogether. He was hard to approach, he seemed unfriendly and kept to himself most of the time. Vin and the others soon broke through the information that had hindered their investigation into why the Southerner pushed them away. It was to protect himself against harm, both physically and emotionally. They had accepted that and treated him normally as though he had been a friend they had known for years. Ezra hadn't liked it but they could see the friendship they gave him begin to chip away at his protective coating.
"Got something." Chris pulled him from his thoughts.
"Already?" Vin looked at his watch and was surprised to find that four hours had passed. "Where?" he corrected his question.
"Two hundred metres in front of us."
Vin aimed the heat monitor in the direction Chris had motioned to with the detector he was using to find his missing friends. "There's a heat source."
"We move forward slowly." Chris ordered him but he knew Vin was already aware of the need to be careful.
But he needed to hear their own voices. It kept him calm and in control. He removed his gun from his shoulder holster. He hadn't bothered replacing the bullets with silver ones. When he shot the creatures that had attacked him they had fallen then stayed down. They hadn't gotten back up. He knew they were no longer there, their fellow creatures had taken them away; no doubt to have them for dinner.
"One fifty, it hasn't moved much. Surprised I'm still picking it up."
"Heat source is still strong." Vin wanted to ask him if he thought it might be Buck or Ezra. Maybe it was Gertrude Johnson. But he didn't. Chris' hope would have already started to grow, he didn't want to add to it. He had a hard enough time keeping his own hope down to a minimal amount.
Chris no longer spoke, he used his left hand to indicate that they were now one hundred metres from the source of movement. He then pointed to his nose and a direction, which would lead them away from the moving form. Vin understood. Chris wanted to get down wind of the figure and approach it that way. They couldn't take the chance in case it was a Werewolf. He hated using that term but what else could they be. Some of them looked more human than animal. But if they were out of folklore then they would be human during the day and will be continuing with their normal lives. If that was the case then they wouldn't have to worry about running into them. They couldn't take the chance. They had to be prepared for them and stay prepared.
They changed direction and began to move through the trees to what they hoped would be Ezra or Buck. Even Gertrude Johnson would be a welcome sight. She might be able to lead them to Buck or Ezra, that was if she was still alive. But she would have to be, there was a heat source. Unless her heat had changed to the coldness of death. That would mean the heat could be coming from either on of their friends or one of the creatures.
Chris indicated fifty metres and pointed to a group of trees close to them. The fact the source of movement was still there meant that it wasn't aware of it's trackers. Vin put his equipment away and instead pointed his weapon in the direction of the hunted. He began to lead the way. He stepped over branches without looking down at the ground. He would take a breath, hold it for as long as he could then let it out slowly.
He held his hand up, waited for Chris to stop next to him then crouched down onto his heels. Whatever it was, was right in front of them in the bushes. Neither man was stupid enough to go rushing in, they weren't willing to commit suicide. They would wait until whatever it was to make themselves known to them. Each of them hoped the wind didn't change direction.
It was only a few minutes before the hidden figure showed itself. It was one of the creatures, a Werewolf. Blood covered it's jaw. It had been feeding, the question was; what was it feeding on? They didn't want to know but they had to find out. The creature began to move away from them. They followed. Chris decided he would be the one to check the corpse, he didn't want Vin to suffer the same nightmares if it did turn out to be one of their missing friends.
He walked in front of Vin with his gun at the ready. He reached the thick bush but didn't go into it. He could smell the fresh odor of death. He held his breath and his eyes search for what he didn't want to see. Then it was there in front of him, a body but the corpse didn't belong to one of the two men they were looking for. He was grateful but at the same time, he felt sympathy for the man's family. He turned and shook his head at Vin. He holstered his gun and placed the motion detector back into his shaking hand. He took a deep breath then took the lead while Vin protected his back.
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He was dreaming again, he knew it but he couldn't wake himself up to end the nightmare and even if he did there was another nightmare waiting for him. But at least he wasn't alone this time, there was someone else suffering with him. He was still running from people who wanted to kill him, Buck was beside him. There was something else different this time. There was a new horror in the woods, he could sense it. A nightmare within a nightmare. He didn't think he could cope if he kept suffering from these. Maybe he should go and see a professional about it. What the hell was he thinking, he couldn't go outside SPI, and no one would believe him. If he saw the SPI shrink then Chris Larabee would find out about it. Why was he even thinking about that when he was in the middle of a dream. He realised he must be a sick man. He groaned as the image appeared before him. This time it wasn't the children the occult had murdered, it was a Werewolf.
Ezra stopped but he wasn't quick enough to stop Buck from getting closer to the creature. He yelled at him to stop but for some reason he didn't listen to him.
Buck continued on until the claws of the Werewolf stopped him. The sharp nails slashed through his throat while another opened his stomach. Ezra watched as Buck turned to him, his friend's life was flowing from his body. He opened his mouth to scream but he was grabbed from behind and spun around to face Gertrude Johnson. Ezra knew that he was no longer dreaming. He had died and was now in hell. He began to fight for his life, as meaningless as it was, so he thought. A scream pulled him from his horror, he'd thought it was his own but it reoccurred and he recognised the voice as Buck’s.
Part One | Part Two | Part Three
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