Her Wild Hero

Kendra was so happy to finally have a clear path ahead of them that she wasn’t as focused as she should have been on the jungle around them. If she had, maybe she would have realized everything was too perfect in those few seconds before the jungle floor erupted around them in a shower of dead leaves and sticks.

She brought her M4 up the moment she saw the hybrids coming out of the ground. The damn creatures had dug pits and laid in wait for them, somehow knowing she and Declan were hiding somewhere along the stream and that they’d come back this way.

Kendra didn’t have time to understand why Declan hadn’t known they were there—she barely had time to shoot. The hybrids were still springing out of the ground around them, so it was hard to tell how many there were, but there had to be at least half a dozen.

She got off a lucky shot, hitting the first charging hybrid in the head and putting him down as he rushed her. But before she could even get off another round, two more hybrids launched themselves at her. She heard a tree-shaking roar behind her and knew that Declan was fighting to reach her, but there was no way he would be able to get to her before the hybrids did. And she sure as hell didn’t have enough ammo in her magazine to take down two of the raging creatures at the same time—not without being killed.

But that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to try.

She threw herself backward, firing a three-round burst before she hit the ground. She didn’t target the hybrids—they were moving too fast for that—but instead aimed for the space directly above her, knowing that’s where both the monsters would ultimately end up.

The move caught the first one by surprise, and he ended up sailing over her, but the other came down right on top of her. The impact drove the sliding stock of her M4 into her ribs, crushing the air out of her lungs. But that didn’t scare her nearly as much as the claws gripping her shoulders. She fought a tide of panic. The hybrid could literally rip her head off without much trouble.

Declan roared behind her, but the sound was drowned out by the snarls of hybrids. It sounded like he was being torn apart. Some part of her mind screamed that she had to get to him, but she couldn’t. She wasn’t even sure she was going to last long enough to help herself.

The creature on top of her bared its teeth, scrambling for a grip on her neck. She struggled for breath, trying to twist her M4 around and get it between her and the thing on top of her, but she couldn’t. She squeezed the trigger anyway, praying it was pointed at something important.

Nothing happened. Crap, the magazine must be empty.

Knowing she was screwed but refusing to give up, she squirmed under the hybrid’s heavy weight, shoving the hands away from her neck and shoulders at the same time she kicked with her knees. She didn’t expect it to help—the hybrid on top of her outweighed her by a ton and was ten times stronger than she was—so she was shocked when the hybrid loosened his hold and rolled off her, taking her weapon with him.

Kendra scrambled back, wanting to put as much distance between the beast and herself. That’s when she realized the hybrid was dead. For a second, she thought she’d gotten a lucky shot in, but then she saw that the barrel of her M4 was buried in the thing’s chest. It had impaled itself on her weapon as it landed on her.

She didn’t waste time considering her good fortune. Declan needed her help. She grabbed her weapon, kicking at the hybrid as she jerked hard. She refused to think about where the barrel of the M4 had just been, instead reloading it as quickly as she could. Snarls mixed with growls to become one terrifying sound somewhere behind her, and the hair on the back of her neck stood up as she shoved a fresh magazine into the gun.

Releasing the bolt to chamber another round, she turned around, expecting to see Declan with one of those large-bore needles shoved in him—or worse. But there was no needle. Just a lot of savage ripping and tearing as Declan and the remaining hybrids went at it, rolling around on the ground like a ball of living fury.

One of Declan’s big fists shot out, connecting with one hybrid’s jaw. The sound of breaking bone echoed around her, blood spraying from the creature’s mouth. And yet, the hybrid barely seemed to notice the damage, leaping back in the fray to slash at Declan with long, ragged claws. Declan was bleeding all over, too, but he simply roared and kept smashing at the two creatures facing him.

Kendra tried to line up a shot to help, but they were moving around too fast for her to take it. She was just as likely to hit Declan as one of the hybrids. But there was no way she was just going to stand there and do nothing while he was slowly cut to shreds.

She aimed above them and squeezed off a three-round burst.