Page 103 of Gluttony
She slid the flexible computer screen on her sleeve away and then nodded toward the tall structure. “It’s in there.”
“Go for the head,” Parker said.
“But get Bailey to safety first,” Tony reminded them.
Then they moved, combing through the exhibit as one cohesive unit, splitting when they hit the wall separating the enclosure from the public. It went around the exhibit like a castle mote. Just over the wall, the enclosure dipped to a low pit filled with grass and climbing structures, but it was the enormous structure in the middle that held their attention. Climbing at least thirty feet into the sky, it towered above the rest. Made from a mixture of steel and wood, the exotic looking hut came complete with a crows nest and balcony. Ropes attached from the tower to other rocky parts of the enclosure like a web, and ropes dangled down to the ground. The full moon hung low in the sky behind the structure. The last vestiges of the creature’s vines caught Tony’s attention as they slid into the main hut. It was definitely in there.
Still no gluttony. He hoped that was a good sign.
“The animals are hiding,” Sloan murmured, coming up to him. “I sense their fear.”
“Get them out,” Parker ordered quietly, and then pointed at the rest of his family with military signals. Evan and Griffin to go one way, Wyatt to go with him.
Sloan moved, but Tony stopped her. “Can you sense Bailey?” Was she alive?
She nodded, pointed to the hut, and then became a ghost. When he turned, he saw four shadows drop over the wall and land in the enclosure. He was next, vaulting the wall in a smooth movement. When he hit the ground, he tucked and rolled, coming back to his feet fluidly and breaking into a jog.
This time, the creature wouldn’t get away.
One way or another, this would end.
Coming to the foot of the structure, Tony climbed up a rope, satisfied to see four other shadows rising at different points around the base. He was the last one up, and almost to the top when a body flew out of the hut and crash onto one of the spiderweb ropes before falling. He only spared a glance to make sure whoever it was recovered, then kept climbing, trying not to worry when another body went flying out of the hut.
Cresting the top, he eased himself onto the wooden platform. What he saw took his breath away. The creature stood tall and deformed in the corner, and it used Bailey as a shield. Wyatt and Griffin were the only two soldiers left, and vines were wrapping around their bodies like a snake. Indestructible Wyatt tried in vain to rip the vines from his body, while at the same time protecting Griffin who was fast being overcome. Bailey pleaded with her eyes.Help me, please.
Rooted to the spot, Tony froze as images flashed before his eyes. He felt like he’d been here before. Inconvenient memories bombarded him. His movie. The hostage situation. The final scene. Except, where his gun shot had gone through the hostage to kill the psycho, that would never work here. This was real, unscripted messy life. She could die if he made the wrong choice.
He looked at Bailey again, and the message in her eyes changed. Or he perceived it wrong in the first place. She wasn’t sayinghelp me. She was looking at him with confidence. With relief. Him. Not the others.
A vine whipped up from the floor and came at him.
He swatted it away with a burning hot hand, then reaching over his shoulder, he released his katana and slashed, cutting more vines in two. More plant-tentacles came, and he kept slashing, never taking his eyes from Bailey. She was unaffected by the poison. The creature must be holding it at bay now that it thought she was his wife.
His wife.
The shocking thought hit him, and then everything spiraled together in his mind. The thing didn’t want to hurt Bailey. It thought she was Gabrielle. That meant it had feelings. Daisy had said she’d felt its sorrow.
“Stop!” he shouted. “Everyone stop!”
“What the—” Wyatt growled, mid rip through a limb.
“Not a good idea,” Griffin added, one hand out, directing a piece of metal from the hut’s skeleton frame to pin one of the plant’s limbs.
“Stop. Please. Trust me.” Then into his hood mic, “Sloth, get your ass up here.”
He didn’t have to wait long. Two more shadows came back through the door. Sloan with her bow knocked and sighted, and Evan with his twin katanas out and ready, lightning arcing up his arms. The small hut was crowded, full of hot air and discarded vines. Taking a risk, Tony yanked down his mask and exposed his face so the creature could see him.
“Please, stand down,” he said.
“Do as he says.” Parker joined them, limping.
Tony’s breath caught in his throat at Parker’s assent. They were all there. The team stopped fighting the monster. Tony met Bailey’s wide eyes, and he nodded. “It’s going to be okay, angel.”
Her lips flattened. Her jaw tensed, and she nodded back.
“Wayne Bosch,” Tony said to the creature’s deformed face. “Or whoever you are now, that’s not your wife. That’s not Gabrielle. That’s Bailey, my fiancée.”
The creature gnashed his thorny mouth.
