Page 55 of Sloth
“No time.”
Sloan retrieved her crossbow and quiver, and then together they dashed back to the hole in the fence, scampering through only seconds before guards shouted over the din of the siren. They ran until they hit their rendezvous point.
Under the cover of darkness, they retrieved their rucksacks from Parker’s open arms and slung them on. Sloan ripped off the guard’s outer shirt, leaving her Deadly Seven jacket free, and she synced her weapon to her back. The bow stuck there like it was glued. The hip-quiver, she attached to her pants.
Still looking green, Tony moved into the darkness, back the way they’d hiked. When the sound of a lone animal howling cut through the night, all five of them froze.
“What the fuck was that?” Tony murmured.
“The beasts,” Barry gasped. “They’re coming.”
Max turned back toward the black site. “They won’t get through the fence.”
“They’ll get through anything, even the small hole we went through. They’ll climb if they have to,” Barry said.
“How did they get up the elevator?” Parker asked.
“Daisy,” Sloan swore. “Must have been her.”
“You put her out,” Max pointed out.
“We don’t stay down for long,” Parker replied and then stepped toward Barry. “Tell me what I need to know about these animals.”
“Um. Oh God. Um. Okay. They’re like you. They sense sin. Except, we have dulled their sense of self preservation.”
“Which sin?” Sloan asked.
“All of them.”
“Fuck!” Tony snapped.
“It’s fine. It’s fine. We can manage this.” Sloan’s gaze locked on the area they’d come, listening for warning signs the beasts were getting close.
Barry whimpered and, hell, seeing a grown man cry like that, petrified, was enough to unsettle any soldier.
“My daughter,” Barry said. “I can’t leave her. I’ll go back.”
Parker caught him by the shoulder, halting him. “You’ll do no such thing.”
“I have to save her! They’ll kill her. Worse. They’ll turn her into one of them.”
“They still don’t know we took you. We have time.” Taking charge, Parker shoved Barry toward Tony, who took hold of him lest he run. “This is the plan: Sloan, Max—you head over the mountain toward Barry’s daughter. You draw the beasts to you, buy us time to get Barry out. We’ll take Barry back the way we came. Do whatever you can, Sloan. Use your gift to amplify sin. Lure the animals, then execute them. You think you can handle that?”
His snarky tone was not lost on Max and it ground on his patience.
Sloan scowled, but released her crossbow from her back, nocked a bolt and nodded. “Yeah, I got it.”
“Once you’re safe, continue on to find Barry’s daughter. I’ll have a car and supplies waiting for you when you arrive over the mountain. Check in when you get in range. We have to double back, and I dare say, you’ll arrive before reinforcements—if we can get any. Go.”
Without waiting another minute, Max and Sloan took off, racing through the darkness, circling back around the base and heading up into the mountain. The distant wail of an animal on the hunt followed them. He did his best to think sinful thoughts, wrath, envy, greed, whatever he could conjure.
“I have no fucking idea if I’m doing this sin thing right,” he huffed as they dodged some trees, already half a mile up the mountain.
The only way to Barry’s daughter was over and then hiking through the wilderness on the other side. His lungs were burning. His limbs were heavy and turning to jelly.
“Just keep watch,” Sloan huffed. “I’ll take care of the sin.”
“Got it.” He opened his hearing and strained for the sound of pursuit as he jogged, rucksack bouncing on his back.
