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Mitch was emboldened by his hostage. Despite Billy’s protests about killing the FBI man, he pressed on. They caught up with the other group just shy of the meadow. He marched right up to them, with Pauline in front of him. He held the knife pressed firmly to her throat.
“Give me my backpack!” he demanded. “No discussion. No arguments. Just give me what’s mine and I’ll let her go.”
“He killed Joshua,” Pauline sobbed.
Rowan and Lauren stopped. Rowan struggled to catch his breath. Miller and Katie took a more offensive stance, while Jean-René turned so the guys couldn’t see he had their pack in his camera bag. Lauren put up a cautious hand. “Just let her go.”
“Not without what’s mine,” Mitch dug the blade into her skin. She yelped. Fresh blood ran down the front of her fern-green uniform shirt.
It appeared to be superficial, but it was frightening none the less. Lauren backed up. “Okay. Okay!” She glanced at Jean-René. “Give it to him.” He pursed his lips and hesitated a moment. He didn’t think she’d seen him pick it up. Begrudgingly, he unshouldered his bag. He took out Mitch’s bag of stones. He held it out, taking a tentative step towards him. A deep rumble reverberated all around them. The ground heaved, nearly upending them all. Mitch didn’t even flinch. He narrowed his eyes coldly at Jean-René. The camera man looked towards the volcano. His jaw dropped.
Mitch’s gaze followed Jean-René’s gaze. Above the barren dome, a silver object appeared from behind the plume of ash. Then there was another ... and another.
Three objects arranged into a V formation circled the volcano. They maneuvered like a flock of geese. Below, everyone on the ground were momentarily blinded by a glowing blue light as the three objects came together into a unified disc. It hovered above, seeming to lower. It kicked up dirt and rock, sandblasting them with grit.
Mitch took the momentary distraction to make his move. He dropped Pauline and snatched the pack from Jean-René’s outstretched hand. He grabbed Billy’s sleeve. They turned and bolted from the edge of the clearing. They disappeared into the woods.
Lauren rushed to Pauline’s side, shielding her from the dust storm around them. Her gaze returned to the disc. It hovered a moment longer before lifting higher. It shot off and was gone.
“Are you okay?” Lauren asked Pauline once the dust began to settle.
“What the hell was that?” Pauline gasped.
“God only knows,” Lauren said, under her breath. She moved Pauline’s hand to inspect the wound on her neck.
“How bad is it?”
“It’s not as bad as you’d think,” Lauren said. “Nothing more than a flesh wound.” Lauren found a tear in Pauline’s untucked shirttail and ripped a section of it off. It was clean enough for her purposes. She tied it gingerly around her neck, creating a temporary bandage. “You’re okay. Keep pressure on it until the bleeding stops.”
The team froze as Miller dashed out from the tree line, breathless. “Where’d they go? Everyone okay?”
Pauline nodded and pressed her hand over the wound. “He killed your partner,” she gulped, her lip trembling.
“Who?”
“The mean one,” she sneered. She let Lauren help her to her feet. She was understandably shaky.
“We need to get back to the rendezvous,” Lauren started, but a deep mournful howl echoed through the trees and it sounded close.
Lauren peered up from beneath her lashes at Rowan. “Tsul’Kalu?” he asked.
She nodded. “And he’s close,” she said. Chills ran down her arms and made the hair on the back of her neck rise. “The judgement is at hand.”
She turned and ran toward the sound. Jean-René caught Rowan, steadying him. “Lauren?”
* * *
Lauren dashed through the trees. She climbed over rocks and up the hill. She skidded to a stop at the sound of the Ancient One’s bone-chilling roar. It reverberated in her chest and snatched her breath away. She hurried towards the sound.
She hesitated as she found Tsul’Kalu in a battle to the death with the angry man. Mitch slashed at him with the knife. Despite the Bigfoot suit, Billy cowered on the ground next to a tree. Mitch was holding his own. The blood dripping down Tsul’Kalu’s face was a testament to that. A wicked cut bisected his face.
The great beast had brute strength on his side. One well-placed blow with the back of his mighty forearm sent the man flying. The bag of diamonds landed at Lauren’s feet. The beast leapt and landed on top of the flailing man. There was a bone-jarring crunch. The man’s form went limp beneath the beast.
Lauren gasped as Tsul’Kalu rose. He turned and roared at her, still in a blood-rage Lauren gasped, stumbling backwards, landing on her butt with a thud. His expression softened to the wise old Shaman she knew him to be.
“Truth Seeker,” she heard his voice in her head. “The Rabbit has been judged.”
“You’re hurt.” She got to her feet. She took a step towards him. He shied away.
“You and your people should be leaving. The mountain has awakened. It is not safe to remain.”
“But ...” Lauren moved closer. “What about you?”
“The People are taking shelter. We will go to a safe place.”
He allowed her to reach for his face. She ran her hand along the side of his large cheek bone. He leaned his face in her palm, cupping her tiny hand in his. “But ... I still have so many questions, Tsul’Kalu.”
The beast managed a faint smile. “Truth Seekers always do.”