Page 49 of Hunted in the Shadows
He circled the sleeping dog slowly while spectators jeered at him to attack. Brandon started to ease forward, only to losehis nerve and back off. I had no doubt Cain had trained him thoroughly, but that didn’t change the fact that he was too young and nervous to initiate the fight. If Tammy were in Cain’s place, she would have been barking orders for Brandon to take control, tostrike.
“We saw some crates being packed in the building,” I said, drawing Cain’s attention away from the nonexistent battle. “Where are they being shipped?”
Huffing, Cain shook his head. “I don’t know all the details.”
“Why?” Cliff cut in. “You ran this place for—how many years? Decades? Why wouldn’t you want to get all the information you can about what comes next for it?”
“What do you want me to say? I’m old, boys! I was ready to pass the mantle, and the new marshal assured me that the bounties and supplies are going to a good cause.”
“But how do you know for sure if you can’t say what cause it’s going toward?” I pressed.
“Look around you, boys!” Cain gestured widely. “You ever seen this place more lively? We can afford better supplies, better protection. Hell, hunters can actually make a living around here now, thanks to the marshal. I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth—not at my age.”
One of the spectators viciously clanged on the chain-link exterior of the Pit, finally rousing the dog. It lifted its head to find that Brandon had invaded its enclosure. At once, the beast was on its feet, hackles raised and teeth bared.
“Strike, boy!” Cain shouted. “Before it changes!”
Brandon looked cemented to where he stood for all of three seconds. Then he gave a war cry and lunged. Before he reached the dog, its fur shivered, and it grew in size. In the blink of an eye, a bear had taken the place of the dog, rising onto its hind legs to tower over the kid.
A massive paw swung, catching Brandon square in the chest and sending him onto his ass, blade skittering out of reach. He howled in pain, clutching his front as crimson seeped through his fingers.
“Get him out!” I shouted.
But the head Pit keeper at the door shook his head. “Heneeds to call it.”
Brandon was in no state to call anything. He scrambled back in a panic as the bear loped for him. He made a valiant attempt to dodge, but it was no use. The monster caught Brandon’s hand in its jaw first. His ear-splitting shriek made my nerves stand on end.
“The fuck are they waiting for!” Cliff growled, stalking forward to grab one of the cattle prods leaning against the Pit. Cain and I followed his lead, but I had the sick feeling we were too late.
Blood spilled over the already-stained concrete floor of the Pit. Bits of Brandon’s mangled hand and arm lay scattered in several directions. Cliff elbowed past jeering spectators to get in reach of the bear. He managed to get a good jab at the creature’s flank, but it jolted out of reach of all three of us—taking Brandon with it.
The bear had caught the kid’s shoulder in its jaws. Jerking back, it sent Brandon down on his back and braced a paw on his body, spasming its head side to side until there was a sickening pop—followed by a wet ripping sound.
Brandon’s scream drowned out the roar of the small crowd.
Finally, the other Pit keepers set to work. They strategically surrounded the chain link enclosure, lunging cattle prods through the fence with well-placed strikes to make the bear retreat. No one seemed keen on trying to remove the severed arm from its jaws.
I didn’t realize Brandon had stopped screaming until I saw him being dragged from the Pit—fully shocked into silence, gaze distant.
“Pinches pendejos,” I muttered, regrouping with Cliff and Cain. “That alp wasn’t weakened enough. Putting a kid alone up against a monster like that?” I gave Cain a hard look. “Is that part of the newsystem?”
“It hadn’t shifted into a fucking bear before, I’ll tell you that,” Cain sighed. “Excuse me, boys—I need to be with him in the medic’s room.”
He looked almost relieved at the excuse to end our conversation. He disappeared past a group of bettors arguing with the bookie about technicalities and payouts. I couldn’t banish my own memories of the dismembered revenant I’d been pitted against five days in a row when I was Brandon’s age. Many had bet against me, not bothering to hide their disappointment when I emerged victorious day after day.
If Brandon pulled through, at least I could rest assured he wouldn’t be fighting any more monsters.
“Poor kid,” Cliff murmured as we abandoned our cattle prods where we’d found them.“They made sure the alps were half-dead before pitting us against them, didn’t they?”
I heaved a sigh. “Nothing’s right about this place—not that there ever was. But this is different.” I glanced in the direction Cain had vanished. “If there was anyone around here who could tell us what the hell is going on, it’s him.”
“Maybe if we root around, we can scrounge up some silver and be gone before they know it,” Cliff said dubiously.
As much as I wanted to get the hell out of this place and return to Sylvia, I hesitated. “If there’s a demand for specialty non-human parts, it’s worth looking into. Do you really buy that these things are going to a good cause?”
“It’s bullshit,” Cliff agreed as we circled back around the Pit. “But if Cain’s keeping his mouth shut about it, what are the chances we can get any of these assholes to clue us in?”
I came to a sudden stop as I caught another glimpse behind the back of the building—the captive burning slowly in the sunlight. As my eyes flicked toward Cliff, I found that he had followed my gaze, expression thoughtful. He and I shared a look.
