Page 39 of Rising

I took a step forward and pushed the gun into the back of his head. “Excuse me? Want to repeat that?”

He whirled on me, grabbing the pistol in one swift motion and pointing it towards the triangular archway above the door.

“Not really.” We glared at each other, my chest pressed against his, daring the other to move before I forced myself free and took a step back, nodding towards the door.

“After you.”

Alexiares

Ipushed open the dark blue door and entered the small house I’d bunkered down in, in the days prior to heading to The Compound. It was okay, nothing fancy, but was one of the homes in better condition for the area.

After some scouting, I’d specifically chosen this neighborhood. The conditions of it were too poor to have people living in it, to be discovered before I was ready, but also nice enough to feel relatively comfortable resting your head for a moment. Not much of my time had been spent here sleeping though, rather spent most hours along the inner borders and casing The Compound walls. I’d slit my own throat before telling her, but for an absent General, her patrol teams were pretty tight.

I’d had to cover my tracks multiple times, spending hours hiding in bushes and trees as they overlapped. But it was a good place for Suckerpunch to recover while I gathered myself and my plans. The air inside was stale and smelled of mold and decay from the few pests I’d seen littered throughout the house.

Suckerpunch rounded the corner from the kitchen and ran to place his giant paws on my shoulders, licking my face and letting out a deep whine. He noticed Amaia behind me, pounding over to greet her when Harley came from her heels and rammed into his side, latching onto his neck and forcing him into submission. Her eyes moved towards Amaia, waiting for her command.

“What—”

“Harley, no! Release!” she demanded, her eyes wide but tone in control. Harley released Suckerpunch, prancing back over to her monstrous owner.

I moved towards my son, kneeling down at his side I rubbed his neck for injuries and kissed his head as he melted into my arms. “What the fuck is wrong with you and your sick ass dog?” I yelled.

There was no broken skin. Not a single puncture wound, which meant Harley was well trained. But if a well trained dog didthatoff instinct, then what the hell were they training it to do on a daily basis?

Amaia moved closer to me, each step slow, she raised her right hand up, commanding Harley to wait. Suckerpunch receded at first, skeptical of this unbalanced woman before ultimately deciding that she was alright, licking her frail hand in acceptance of her sorry ass apology.

“I’m sorry. Harley thought I was being threatened. I have to say, unfortunately, that’s not the first situation I’ve had where she witnessed a creature or two lunging at me.” She tried to make light of the situation but it only made me question what type of situations her leadership placed her in.

She kept prodding. “What’s her name? His name?” Her voice trailed off as she peered around to find the answer.

Suckerpunch towered over her, the difference in size laughable. It was hard to imagine the woman before me was responsible for so many deaths. A lone wolf waiting to be provoked.

I rose to my feet and gave the two of them some space. “He, and Suckerpunch.” Her nose scrunched up and her head tilted in question, but she giggled and kept whatever questions she had to herself.

Her tone shifted to a baby voice as she said, “And what happened to you, Mr. Sucker?” while grabbing his face and moving it around as he lapped at all the attention.

Her fingers now tracing the outline of the bandage on his midsection. Harley whimpered from the other side of the room, jealousy taking on the fight against her training.

“Mountain lion.” I grinned, proud of my son, then frowned that the fight hadn’t left him unscathed. Her round lips turned down and her eyes went sad. For some reason, I felt the need to reassure her, “You should see the other guy, though he’s probably started to rot by now. You know how it is. Don’t see them until it’s too late.”

She nodded, knowing very well, and I wondered if it was because a mountain lion had been one of the creatures Harley too had to put in its place. Harley was large, even for a Doberman, pure muscle. And though she had taken on a surprised and injured Suckerpunch, she was no match for a healthy version of my Cane Corso. His head alone was bigger than my own, one hundred-fifteen pounds of muscle.

It wasnevergoing to be in that mountain lion’s favor. Suckerpunch had only been injured from lack of focus, too concerned about my safety. He’d frozen in his steps a few feet ahead of me, sensing the danger but unable to determine where it had come from.

Only a few seconds later did I see a swift movement from the side of my eye. My reflexes were the only difference between a flesh wound swipe to my chest and my insides pouring out. The shout of pain I released had distracted him for only a moment, turning his head to ensure there was no other threat, but it had cost him. The mountain lion had grown desperate, doing all it could to twist and turn off its back and had swiped his side as well. His wound was deeper than mine, but still not fatal. Mine had healed pretty well, my packed herbal blends from a healer back home working almost as well as magic itself.

Suckerpunch hadn’t been as lucky. Slower to heal as his wounds were deep, just shy of surgical, and although I had water running through my veins, I possessed no healing component.

“That’s okay,” she said, attention still on him, “we have a great little doggy doctor. You’ll be good as new.” Her voice turned lethal, “You were just going to leave him here?”

“Obviously not”—I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms—”but I’m not going to bring my precious boy around people I don’t know, especially when he can’t defend himself.”

It was her turn to roll her eyes. “We’re not monsters.”

“Said the tyrant that ordered me to take her to my belongings to raid and judge at her leisure. Then had her mutt”—I threw a finger Harley’s way, and she growled—”attackhim like some rabid animal.”

She made a mocking face and inspected the living room behind my shoulder. “I’m sorry I didn’t know you’d be so overprotective of a raggedy ass teddy bear,” she said, picking up Evander’s bear that I had zip tied to the outside of my bag.My baby brother, I fought off tears at the thought of him. He was only sixteen. It wasn’t fair. I was tired of life not being fair.

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