Page 40 of Raven's Curse
A crack.
Clean. Sharp.
Echoing off the rocks as birds scattered from the trees.
The sound barely registered before Chase launched to his right, kicking off the rocks. He swung in front, determined to block any other shots, but she was already slouched against the webbing. Eyes open. Blood eating up her jacket.
Kash shouted something in the background, hauling the litter up and behind him onto flat ground a second later, rifle shouldered, return fire cutting up the tree line off in the distance where the cliff curled back toward them. What had to be several hundred meters off. More shots boomed from beneath, Zain adding to the mix as Chase scrambled up the last few feet before moving over to Anna.
No pulse.
Just a steady flow of blood oozing from the massive chest wound.
He put pressure on it, relying on Kash and Zain to have his six when Eli popped up off the ground, rifle at the ready. Greer all but shoved him over, muttering to herself as she crouched low, looking as if she wanted to throttle Eli before darting over to the SKED.
Chase started compressions, cursing when every push only pumped Anna’s blood out faster, an increasing pool puddling beneath her, staining the dirt an eerie black.
Greer pressed down on the wound, constantly scanning the grounds as Chase kept working, counting off the seconds in his head. Aware he didn’t have the equipment to bring her back but unwilling to just quit.
She’d been down a few minutes when Greer grabbed his arm, waiting until he met her gaze before shaking her head.
He checked Anna’s vitals.
No pulse. No hope.
Just the weight of his broken promise hanging in the air. The lingering echo of the shot still ringing across the cliff.
Greer pushed to her feet, nodded at the body as she tossed Eli her keys. “Grab a plastic bag from my trunk and lay it over our vic, then keep your ass glued to the stretcher. Get Foster on the radio. See if he can swing over and pick both of you up, then hightail it back to base. I’m going after the shooter. Kash. Chase.”
She took off, hoofing it across the small clearing and into the forest. Chase and Kash caught up to her just as she started weaving through the underbrush, jumping over logs and darting around bushes. She didn’t slow, despite the bramble clawing at her clothes. Likely scratching lines across her skin.
They hit a trail and really picked up speed. She waved Kash and Nyx ahead, Nyx barely held back by her leash. Her nose twitched as she slowed at a junction before turning left and taking them deeper into the park.
Chase stayed on their six, constantly checking behind them. Deep shadows covered the path, the thick canopy stealing any hints of light. He dimmed his headlamp when they came to another branching path, Kash slowing to a halt.
His buddy moved in beside him, keeping Greer positioned in the middle. Protecting her from any viable hit. “Guy’s probably long gone, but based on where he’d likely been nesting, he’s heading for the northeast fire road.”
Greer nodded. “There’s an obscure path up on the right. Cuts the distance in half. Won’t be pretty, though.”
Kash shrugged. “Rarely is. We’ll take point. Let Nyx warn us if there’s any hint of trouble. Just don’t get shot.”
Kash took off, boots kicking up dirt and gravel as he sprinted along the trail, angling right toward what looked like an old deer path. Nyx took the lead, keeping them on track, despite the overgrown ferns and roots covering the narrow path. Branches snapped across Chase’s chest, thorns catching his clothes as darkness settled around them, just their narrow beams keeping them from tripping over logs or impaling themselves on broken stumps.
Nyx trotted to a halt, fur raised, a low, menacing growl just reaching him. Kash ducked down, signaling to the main trailhead opening up ahead of them. They switched off their lights, ducking behind a couple large boulders as they scanned the path. Chase kept Greer close, ready to cover her if he got even an inkling of an attack, when a shadow moved amidst the trees, a ghost of a glow shining from some kind of light at the perp’s waist, his rifle just visible in his silhouette.
The bastard froze behind a massive pine, body hidden, head exposed just enough that when he tilted it slightly toward them, Chase knew he was looking back. As if he’d wanted them to see.
A laugh.
Deep. Maniacal.
Echoing through the trees. Mixing with the hints of fog just starting to weave through the canopy before he clicked off his light and took off, vanishing into the night.
Kash whistled to Nyx as he sprang forward, hauling ass down the last of the deer path then onto the trail, sprinting up it before heading back into the underbrush. A few twigs snapped somewhere up ahead, the odd bird cawing before taking flight.
Greer kept up, leaping over blowdown and barreling through bushes, Chase’s dim light illuminating the path. Not much, but either she’d done maneuvers at night, or she had the instincts of a damn cat because she didn’t miss a step. Didn’t seem at all concerned she’d trip or fall down a hole.
An engine revved in the distance followed by gravel crunching beneath tires. Red taillights lit up the forest, skidding around a corner as they burst out of the woods and onto the old fire road.
