Lovely.
Trying to understand the facility’s rationalization was like nailing jelly to the wall. So I gave up long ago and just went with whatever they tossed at me. And trust me, most of it was daunting. Every time I thought they couldn’t surprise me, they found ways to make me remember what fear was.
There were two large red barns in the distance and a green tractor that looked like it had teeth. The chompers on that bad boy looked lethal. Even as the thought of making a run for it crossed my mind, I knew they would only come looking for me. The facility did not lose weapons. Especially ones they thought had promising futures.
I wouldn’t have exactly called my future promising; it felt more bleak, cold, and heartless.
That was how I felt inside. I guess six months in the hole, so to speak, would do that to anyone. Truthfully, I didn’t have any idea how I survived this long. The things I’d gone through…I didn’t like to think about them.
After a few moments of flirting with the idea of escape, I set forth to finish what I’d been assigned to do. Really, there wasn’t any other option. No matter what I did or didn’t do, I would pay for it later. And let me tell you, payment at the hands of the facility wasn’t something I ever wanted to feel again. My one act of rebellion in that first week was enough for me to learn my lesson. I’d always been a fast learner.
And I had drunk the brain-washing Kool-Aid.
Pushing aside the big green leaves from the stalks, I meandered through some farmer’s field. Flat land stretched out in front of me, making me realize that I was probably still in Illinois, maybe even not far from Spring Valley. It was hard to pinpoint a precise location when all I had to go on was miles of corn. A cow mooed in the distance. The sound startled me, and I whipped around in a circle, swiping the dagger stashed in the back of my pants. I was on edge and more nervous than I’d bargained for.
I snorted.
God, I was acting like a helpless twit. Not only had I been trained to kill, but I was also better equipped than a Navy SEAL. Shoving the dagger back into its sheath, I continued along the rows of corn, looking for signs of Hell. I mean, that was the whole of point of this exercise—to hunt and kill.
I went over and over in my head the signs of tracking, until I didn’t have to think at all. Pure instinct kicked in. But, in the end, it wasn’t me that found it.
It tracked me.
I hadn’t heard the hound coming, not until it snarled right behind me. They were known to be stealthy, but, heck, so was I, and I was irked that the mutt had gotten the jump on me. It threw off my guard and wounded my pride.
Pivoting around on my heel, I came face to face with a butt-ugly dog, the dagger clenched in my clutches. Through clamped scissor jaws, the hellhound stared me down like a giant piece of key lime pie. I’d always figured the first time I had a showdown with something unnatural, I would be quick, light on my feet, and deadly—a force to be reckoned with.
Lately, nothing ever went according to plan.
I wiped the sweat from my forehead, pushing loose strands of hair away from my face. The heat was unbearable as it blazed down on me. The giant stalks of corn offered very little coverage from the summer’s heat, but just enough to keep us hidden from some unwanted farmer’s gaze.
I backed up as the blacker-than-night hound stomped the dirt with a paw the size of a lion’s. My heart thumped in my chest as the dagger was slick in my sweaty palm. The hound growled low in its throat, baring hideous teeth and drooling potent salvia that could mark a human for Hell’s GPS.
Oh, Hell had all kinds of dirty tricks. They didn’t play by any rules. They didn’t know what a clean fight was. And they sure as heck didn’t care who got in their way.
I stopped in my tracks and waited to see what my next move would be. Maybe a bolt of lightning would strike the ground and I would be hit with a brilliant plan, because right now…I had nothing.
I froze.
Sweet baby Jesus.
He pounced before I even saw him move. I cursed its inhuman speed as the ground slipped from under me. My ass hit the dirt, and the force of the impact caused me to lose my breath. I didn’t even have a time to inhale before the hound was on top of me, slamming my head to the ground. The blade went flying out of my hand.
Just peachy.
I heard my skull crack, and then it was followed by a sharp shooting pain. White starbursts danced behind my eyes, yet there was no time to lick my wounds. With the hound’s weight bearing down on my chest, I struggled to get the upper hand. The size of the damn thing was a surprise. Teeth snapped at my throat and all I could think was this was it. I wasn’t going to make it through my first hunt.